Accidental Fate
by KHLostEmpress
Summary: One semi-innocent prank goes slightly out of control. One thing's for sure, Takeru and Hikari were never going to trust Daisuke again. Though, perhaps some accidents are just better known as fate. AU Takari
1. In Medias Res

Author's Notes: So this story came to me in a dream I had while writing another story, _Stand in the Rain_, which also came to me in a dream after I listened to a song. Make of that what you will. I'm going to be starting in the middle of the story and then sort of jumping around in time after that (and I mean by _years_ sometimes).

In this story, Miyako is the same age as Takeru, Hikari, Daisuke, and Ken because it is convenient for the story. Also, though I'll be following a lot of Digimon canon for the most part (minus the whole Digital Adventure part), some dates have been fudged for the story's sake.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon._

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><p><em>Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant. ~Senaca<em>

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><p><em>2 August 2013<em>

There was an annoying buzzing sound. He was going to absolutely demolish what was making it…as soon he could open his eyes through the pounding headache in his skull. His hand reached out blindly to the nightstand beside him, and his fingers came to rest upon a rather squarish object, vibrating every other second. And he finally realized that it was his phone that was making the buzzing noise. Before he could answer it (because he was stuck wondering why his phone was on vibrate in the first place), it stopped. A few seconds later, it buzzed briefly and fell silent once more. Bringing the phone close to his face, he squinted at the screen, where it told him he had forty-three new messages.

His eyes widened and he blinked once in surprise, but he went quickly back to squinting as his headache spiked. It seemed incredulous and a little ridiculous that he had that many messages. He touched the screen to open this newest one which had arrived that minute before. It was from his older brother and there were simply three words in it:

**WHERE R U? ! ! ? ? ! ? ! !  
><strong>

His first thought was that it had a rather unnecessary amount of exclamation points and question marks for such a simple question. His second was that he wondered where the heck his brother thought he was. He squinted up at the time in the corner of the phone. Sure, it was a little late in the day for sleeping—it was nearly noon—but (after another quick confirmation glance to the corner—for some reason he felt sort of out of whack) it was a Friday in summer after all and he had no plans that he knew of whatsoever. So, of course, he was sleeping in bed at his apartment. Where else would he be?

Shoving his phone into his nightstand drawer, he decided to ignore it for now. His brother's freaking problem could wait until he got rid of this stupid headache, though now he had a nagging doubt that he was missing something. When you've got a problem, review the basics and what you know…he was sure some famous person said something like that. Or maybe he read it in a book somewhere…but he stopped that train of thought as he focused. With half a smile, he reviewed what he knew. He was Takeru Takaishi, twenty-two years old, university student.

…

Perhaps that was a little _too_ basic. So he closed his eyes and tried to just remember what he did yesterday. There was a party, he was sure of it. A birthday? No, that wasn't right. He vaguely remembered lots of white…and purple for some reason. But not _purple_ purple exactly…a softer color…like lavender…_Miyako_!

His eyes snapped open as he remembered. Of course, yesterday had been Miyako and Ken's wedding. He had been at the reception, but why couldn't he remember much after…

Groaning softly, his eyes slid close again as he covered his face with his hands. He was _never_ going to trust Daisuke again. He didn't care if his life was going to depend on it—from here on out, he was going to die rather than trust him. Because he now knew what had happened.

That thought had barely formed before he froze as he suddenly felt a hand that was most certainly not his own slide slowly across his bare chest. It was small and delicate and just quite clearly feminine…and why wasn't he wearing a shirt in the first place? Tensely holding his breath, he slowly turned his head and peeked between his fingers to see who was sleeping beside him. His hands lowered off his face and his breath rushed out of him in relief as he saw a familiar beautiful brunette. Hikari Yagami—his best friend and strictly platonic life partner, despite what everyone else thought or tried to implicate—was sleeping peacefully on her side rather close beside him, but then he'd learned rather quickly that Hikari tended to be a "snuggly" type of sleeper. He'd lost count of the times she'd mistaken him for a pillow, though he didn't quite see how as there were vast differences in softness between him and a pillow.

The headache still remained, but it was slowly becoming bearable to open his eyes as he sat up and took a quick glance around the room and recognized that he was in Hikari's apartment rather than his own…which made his brother's confusion at his location much more understandable. But not quite completely understandable, as Hikari's place should have been the second place he looked. It wasn't a secret that he and Hikari often spent the night at each other's apartments (though it didn't help in their insistence to others that they were just friends and nothing more). They had even joked more than once that they should just move in together to save money. But they never had as they thought that potential and actual dating partners—who wouldn't know them as well as their closest friends—would misunderstand.

A soft groan emitted from the woman beside him and Takeru looked back down at Hikari, who had her eyelids scrunched together for a moment before she slowly opened them in a squint, giving him the barest look at their warm burgundy color. "Good morning," Takeru said cheerfully as he almost saw the humor in the whole situation by now.

She just groaned and rolled over onto her back, swinging one forearm over her eyes. "How can you be so cheerful?" she asked incredulously which Takeru just answered with a grin, even though she couldn't see it—they'd know each other long enough that he knew that she knew it would be there. And sure enough, the next thing she said was, "And don't give me that grin; my head is killing me. I swear I am never drinking again. This is not worth it," she finished flatly.

"So, what do you remember from last night?" Takeru asked playfully, partly just to tease her, but also partly because _he_ himself didn't remember much of anything past when Daisuke handed the two of them those glasses full of something that was most definitely not "just some orange juice" as he had claimed it to be…which was the exact reason why he was never going to trust the other man again.

Her arm slid up over her head as her face twisted slightly in thought. Suddenly, she gasped and sat up straight quickly, but then leaned over almost immediately with her hands on the side of her head. Her eyes clenched tight as she moaned, "Oww…bad idea."

"What is it?" Takeru asked with just the barest slice of dread about Hikari's violent reaction to whatever had occurred to her.

Hikari pulled her knees up nearly to her chest and crossed her arms over them. She laid the side of her head on them as she looked at Takeru and sighed. "Miyako is going to kill me when she realizes that her maid of honor doesn't even remember her wedding," she said despondently. When Takeru started to laugh, her eyes flashed with anger and she said, "Stop laughing. I'm serious!"

"Oh, I know," Takeru said as he struggled to control his laughter. His own headache was still there, but as time went on it had slowly progressed into a moderate dull thud. He was still in some desperate need of a little aspirin or ibuprofen or _some_ kind of pain reliever (at this point, he wasn't going to be picky about which one). But with the kind of reaction she'd had, he was expecting something a little direr than what she had said. The laughter was more out of relief than anything else. "But, in your defense, if you're having the same problem as me, you probably _do_ remember the wedding—it's just everything else that happened afterword that's the problem."

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as she asked, "You can't remember either?" Takeru shook his head ruefully in answer with a small apologetic smile. She gave an atypical fierce grunt as she uncharacteristically said, "I am going to flay Daisuke within an inch of his life." Hikari was not a violent person _at all_ (neither was he, though), so it was strange to her hear say something like that, but Takeru felt that he had to agree that the situation definitely warranted that reaction.

Stretching his arm over his head, he asked, "Why only an inch? Why not just go the whole way and put him out of his misery?"

Hikari gave him a sweet almost fake smile as she said mockingly, "Why, I thought I'd leave the last little bit for you, dear."

"Thanks, honey," Takeru replied, equally as sarcastic. "How kind and thoughtful of you." They had a long history of teasing between them having known each other since they were very young as both of their brothers, Taichi Yagami and Yamato Ishida, had been friends since second grade themselves after the "dark year" as the brothers liked to call their first grade in elementary. Taichi and Yamato had spent most of that year fighting each other with their mutual friend, Sora Takenouchi, acting as mediator between them. Then in the spring break between first and second grade, somehow the two of them all of the sudden became best friends. Takeru didn't remember what happened (as he and Hikari had only been four at the time themselves), and the two brothers didn't really ever bring it up themselves. Ever since then, the two of them had been as close as brothers themselves, and because of that, Takeru and Hikari had met and became close friends as well.

Takeru frowned suddenly as finally gave Hikari a good look up and down. "Are you wearing my shirt?" he asked as he recognized the light blue t-shirt. "And…are those my boxers?" he asked alarmed as he saw what she was wearing below as she leaned back to study the shirt after the question.

"Hmm," she said nonchalantly. "So they are."

"May I ask _why_ exactly you are wearing my clothes?" he asked.

At that question, Hikari lost some of her calm demeanor as her cheeks flushed slightly pink. "Well," she started hesitantly. "You know how we keep clothes at each other's apartments, right?" Takeru nodded, his brows furrowed in confusion as where this was going. They had started that practice, after one particular night when Takeru had slept over at Hikari's place and both of them had accidentally slept in late, leaving no time for Takeru to go home and change. He'd gone to school the next day in the same clothes he had the day before…leading others to the obvious (and completely wrong, of course) conclusion that something had happened between the two of them (as it was only really known to their close knit of friends that they slept over with each other). After that, they'd given each other a drawer at the opposite's apartment to make sure it didn't happen again. "Sometimes," Hikari continued with her gaze focused completely on the wall in front of her, "when you're not here, I wear something like this to sleep in because they're comfy and they help remind me of you because most of the time I sleep better when you're here. You…make me feel safe," she finished quietly with a shrug.

Takeru didn't really have an answer for that as he was kind of immensely flattered and happy that she felt that way. So, before he could think of something to say, Hikari reached out and poked him lightly in the chest. "What about you? What's with the no shirt and only sweatpants ensemble?"

Seeing an opportunity for a joke to lighten the mood, Takeru put on a fake thoughtful expression said, "I don't know. It must've been cold or something last night. Because, as you know, I usually don't sleep with anything on," he finished with a wide grin.

Shaking her head slightly with half a grin herself, she said emphatically, "You do not." As she said this, she grabbed her pillow behind her and threw it at him. The action caught Takeru slightly off guard; he caught the pillow in his arms, but it caused him to lose his balance and tumbled backward off the bed with a tangle of sheets around his legs as he fell. He heard Hikari's startled gasp and her rush to the side of the bed as she said hurriedly, "Are you okay, Takeru? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean—are you laughing?" she finished suspiciously.

Takeru was indeed laughing into the pillow over her panic of him falling only a good two feet—nowhere near far enough to cause him any sort of serious injury. He moved the pillow aside as he said through badly suppressed laughter, "You've hurt me terribly. You better come kiss it better."

With a humph, Hikari picked up the other pillow and chucked it at him, hitting him squarely in the stomach, which only caused Takeru to laugh even harder and reconsider his earlier thought that Hikari wasn't actually a violent person. Without another word, she slid off the bed and walked out of the room, leaving Takeru to unravel himself from the sheets and tumble after her. Still not able to completely stop laughing, he called after her, "I'm sorry, Hikari." He found her in the kitchen rummaging in the cupboard; she didn't look at him as he sat down at the small table that worked as the dining room. But when she set a glass of water and two pills in front of him with a gentle smile, he knew he was forgiven. He downed the painkillers—the headache was still there after all, even if it was becoming bearable—as she sat down across from him with her own water and pills.

As she set the glass down on the table, Hikari propped her elbow up on the table and rested her head in her hand. "You know, guys are so lucky to just be able to whip off their shirts the moment they get hot. We girls have to just suffer," she said with a thoughtful gaze at his still quite bare chest. She lifted her gaze back to his eyes and he wondered what she saw in his blue orbs to give her that strange almost confused look in her eyes.

Deciding he didn't really like the sudden silence in the room, he said mischievously, "You could do it to, if you wanted to. It's not like I haven't seen it before," he finished nonchalantly.

She looked shocked for a minute before her eyes softened and she said dismissively, "I seriously doubt the one time our brothers threw us in the bath together when we were five counts."

Takeru gave an exaggerated sigh as he leaned back in his chair and said with false remorse, "I suppose you're right. Why did they do that again?" he asked, trying to think back to that day. He remembered that he and Yamato had gone over to the Yagami apartment, but he couldn't remember why Taichi and Yamato had done that.

Hikari gave a shrug. "Mom and Dad left Taichi in charge when they went out to help my grandmother. You guys were spending the weekend with us while your parents were out on assignment. I think a TV show they wanted to watch was going to be on soon, but Mom had specifically told Taichi to give us each a bath. I guess Taichi and Yamato just decided to save time by throwing us in together," she finished with a lopsided grin.

Takeru laughed both because it just sounded like something the two of them would do and his own memories were resurfacing of the incident, confirming what Hikari said. "I guess that was before the baseball bat days," Takeru said. Shortly after they had entered middle school, Taichi had bought a baseball bat—which confused quite a few people as Taichi had not expressed an avid interest in the sport before that (he was much more into soccer). But it became quite clear soon after Hikari's first date with a boy in her second year why he had bought it, the sole reason which was, of course, to drive away any and all boys Hikari dated that he did not approve of.

"Sometimes, I still can't believe he bought it, and actually threatened boys with it until I reached high school," Hikari said reflectively. "He never did tell me why he stopped."

A memory he had long since pushed away flashed across Takeru's mind at those words, but he pushed it back into the corners of his mind as Hikari suddenly fidgeted slightly in her chair. Instantly, he was ready to come to his feet as he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said softly. She reached her arms back and stretched as she continued, "I must have slept on something weird, that's all." Her arms fell back slowly to her sides as she gave him a reassuring smile. She stood up and reached across the table for Takeru's cup. Taking her own as well, she went over and rinsed them in the sink before grabbing the soap to wash them. As she did this, she said over her shoulder, "Why don't you go ahead and shower first? I'll leave some clothes for you outside the door once I'm finished with these cups."

"Okay," Takeru agreed, coming to his feet. As he walked to the bathroom, he suddenly remembered the message Yamato had sent him that he had just unceremoniously stuffed into what he now realized was actually _Hikari's_ nightstand and not his own. Takeru wondered what it was exactly that caused Yamato to sound so panicked; he made a mental note to go over to his brother's place as soon as left here. Perhaps his brother would be able to fill in some of the blank slate that most of the previous evening still seemed to be.


	2. That Came Out Wrong

_2 August 2013_

Yamato jolted awake as something banged loudly on the floor. He hadn't really been sleeping but rather just dozing as he had been doing all night. His worry for his brother—and to a slightly lesser extent, his brother's non-girlfriend—had kept him unable to truly sleep. He rubbed his hands across his tired face as he breathed out a heavy sigh before he dropped them into his lap again. Yamato stared at his open palms, trying to remember why he would feel like something was missing—besides Takeru, of course. It came to him like a lightning bolt as he remembered that he had been holding his phone—staring at the screen desperate for a reply to his latest text—when his heavy eyelids had slowly slid shut.

He frantically reached around searching for the missing device, irrationally sure that his brother had to have sent something to him by now. Irrational due to his past experience during the night—other than one single nonsensical reply sometime around midnight (he wasn't entirely sure what the actual time had been), Yamato had received no word at all from his brother.

Out of the corner of his eye, something glinted in the sunlight streaming through the window, and he glanced to the floor where his black cell phone lay. Its screen was dark with a few glare lines streaking across its smooth surface, taunting him with its complete blankness. Exhausted, he reached down and grasped it in his fingers, lifting it up so that he could see it. He pressed his thumb to it and the screen burst to life with a jarring brightness. His shoulders slumped in disappointment, and he let out a breath that he hadn't even known he had been holding. All that stared up at him from the screen was his phone's wallpaper—a generic picture of blue and white swirls that raged around each other. He glanced at the time displayed in the corner, noticing that it had been a little over an hour since the last time he had called and texted Takeru.

A few moments later, he tore his eyes away from the screen to glance around vaguely and remembered once more that he was in his brother apartment rather than his own. It had been the first place he had looked for him and, as his brother had given Yamato his spare key, he had just barged on in after the wedding reception had finished, yelling out Takeru's name. But no one had been inside. So, after pacing in front of the elevator for ten seconds and deciding that it was taking entirely too long, he had run down the steps three floors below to Hikari's apartment. He would have been far too impatient to stand inside the elevator anyway.

He had no key to her apartment, so all he could do once he got there was bang on the door loud enough to disturb the neighbors and hope someone answered. But no one ever did. He'd slumped back to Takeru's apartment and started his assault on Takeru's phone—which had gone unanswered. He looked at the phone again, wondering if it was worth trying again. He typed up another quick text, telling Takeru to call him as soon as he got the chance. He waited for a few seconds for an answer, but none was forthcoming so he tossed the phone onto the cushion beside him.

Resting his elbows on his knees, he let his head fall onto his hands, trying to think of what he should do next since his brother was still missing, and he contemplated going down to check Hikari's apartment again. He had no idea what could have possibly happened during the night—though his mind had taken him on a roller coaster of possibilities. Suddenly, a memory of his brother's devastated face floated up from the back of his mind—years ago, he'd seen his brother destroyed once by Hikari (not that it was completely her fault as much as Yamato had wanted it to be so that he could have been justifiably angry at her about it—and he was also fairly certain that Hikari still had no idea what had happened), and he had no desire whatsoever to see Takeru in that state ever again. He was worried that something might have happened last night, just like it had before all those years ago. He was worried about what state his brother would be in when he finally did return home.

Letting out a cry of frustration and helplessness, Yamato got to his feet and dragged himself off to the bathroom. As he splashed cold water on his face, the same internal argument cropped up—should he or should he not tell Taichi about it? On one hand, Hikari was Taichi's little sister and he had just as much right to know she was missing and not answering calls and texts, too. On the other hand, there was really no point in both of them being worried sick. Yamato sighed as the latter argument won again. He dried his face off with a towel and leaned over the sick to look at himself in the mirror.

He looked terrible.

The suit that he had donned the night before for the wedding (and the one that he had not managed to change out of yet) was looking distinctly disheveled—the jacket and pants were noticeably rumpled, he'd lost the tie hours ago, and his no-longer-crisp white shirt was hanging open at the top because the top few buttons had come undone at some point during the night. Also, his blond hair was sticking up all over the place, almost as bad as when he used to spike it up on purpose as a kid. There were heavy bags and dark streaks under his blue eyes—a sure result of his sleepless night. Needless to say, he'd had better days.

As he flicked off the switch to the bathroom lights, he froze as he heard the unmistakable jangling sound of keys from the other side of the front door. Almost disbelieving after the nerve-wrecking night he had spent, he took a few steps toward the front door as it opened and Takeru walked inside as simple as that. Still somewhat wondering if he had finally lost his mind, he just stood staring at his brother, who gave him a surprised look of his own and said, "Oh, hey, Yamato." With an assessing curious smile, Takeru looked Yamato up and down—not that Yamato could blame him as he had just seen what he looked like in the mirror about ten seconds ago—before he continued, "I was going to come see you in a little while. Sorry about not answering your text this morning." His tone was casual and completely normal—as if he _hadn't_ been missing for almost twenty hours.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Yamato crossed the space still between them in three long strides and enveloped his brother in a giant hug. He could feel Takeru stiffen in surprise, but his brother didn't say anything and Yamato didn't particularly care at that moment. "_Where have you been_?" Yamato finally asked with unconcealed panic and relief edged along every single word.

"That's…an excellent question," Takeru said and his tone was somewhere between his usual cheerfulness and utter bafflement. The words at the end were said slowly and almost with resignation, too.

But when he didn't say anything more beyond that, Yamato pulled away from him and placed his hands on Takeru's shoulders instead. He searched his brother's face, seeking the answers that he thought Takeru was holding back but found only his brother's normal gentle smile and an apologetic look in his eyes. "What the _heck_ is that supposed to mean?" Yamato asked. He took a step back and ran one of his hands through his hair as he gave a small shake of his head. "Actually, never mind about that. Just tell me—what happened between you and Hikari?" he asked, trying really hard to ignore the deep pit of dread in his stomach on what Takeru's answer would be.

But his brother just blinked at him almost vacantly, which was just a completely different reaction from what Yamato was actually expecting. "What do you mean?" Takeru asked with genuine confusion.

Yamato crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised his eyebrow at his brother, wondering if his brother was really just that naïve (unlikely as that was) or if he was being evasive on purpose (strangely enough, also very unlikely—which just left him wondering what the third option could possibly be). "What kind of question is that?" Yamato shot back, just so sufficiently tired and frustrated at the whole situation. "What do you _think_ I mean?"

For a moment, Takeru just stared at him blankly before Yamato saw the understanding blossom in his eyes. Then, to his great and utter surprise, Takeru burst into a complete fit of laughter, making Yamato feel sort of wholly unappreciated. He'd spent the entire night awake with worry and now his brother was laughing at him. However, Yamato just pressed his lips together and waited for his brother's laughter to end—one way or another, he was going to stand here and wait for an explanation no matter how long it took to get the whole story.

As Takeru wiped the tears from his eyes, he said breathlessly, "I'm sorry, but for you to think that…" He trailed off as another smaller bout of laughter escaped from him. He took a deep breath to compose himself and finally managed to say, "Yamato, of course nothing happened between me and Hikari. That would have been a rather radical change of our relationship. We don't—"

"See each other that way," Yamato finished for him, having heard the same line from both of them multiples times. "I know," he said with a long-suffering sigh. He continued, "But when I sent you a text asking where you were, you sent me a reply around midnight that said—well, I don't remember exactly what it said, but it was something like I wouldn't believe what you and Hikari did and that you had to talk to me."

"So you just assumed…" Takeru said trailing off the obvious conclusion with an amused look on his face.

"Not at first," Yamato admitted ruefully. "But eventually my mind just sort of went out of control—every situation I thought of just got progressively worse. It's not completely my fault, you know. I mean, you did once—"

"That was a long time ago," Takeru interjected flatly, cutting Yamato off before he could finish the sentence. His face had instantly lost its amused look into seriousness, and there was a flash of anger in his eyes, just for a bare moment, which gave Yamato a slight pause wondering over what Takeru's thoughts were. His memory brought back that day again, but he pushed it away, knowing the choice his brother had made that day and exactly what it had cost him. After all, Yamato had made a choice then as well.

Finally, Yamato slowly said, "Yeah." There was another silent pause until Yamato said, "Sorry about just assuming all that stuff."

"Well, you know, technically, I did sleep with Hikari," Takeru said honestly and almost dazily. But almost immediately after, he sort of gasped and his eyes widened as if he had surprised himself by saying that—as if he hadn't meant to say it at all.

Shocked, Yamato narrowed his eyes at his brother as he was now truly and utterly confused by their whole conversation—he was pretty sure that he was now missing something, the little nugget that would make this whole situation finally make sense. "But you just said…" Yamato started to say before Takeru cut him off with a way of his hand.

"That's not what I meant," Takeru said hastily and almost panicked in a breathless sort of voice. "We sleep at each other's places all the time; you know that. And to be honest, we usually sleep in the same bed most of the time when we do."

"You've slept in the same bed as Hikari," Yamato repeated flatly, but he was, in fact, truly surprised. He'd known they stayed at each other's apartments—even Taichi (who was usually very extremely over-protective of his little sister) let that go like it was nothing (though he'd been rather strangely evasive with him when Yamato had tried to gauge how he felt about it)—but he assumed (as he pretty much thought the rest of their friends had) that there had definitely just been some couch crashing and _not_ actually sleeping in the same bed.

"Yeah," Takeru said with a slight blush flushing across his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's kind of a long story that started with a bad dream and just kind of spiraled down from there. But don't tell Taichi," he finished with a flash of panic in his eyes.

"That's for sure," Yamato said with a smirk. Memories of the baseball bat Taichi had owned back when they were in high school flashed across his mind and he couldn't help but smile as he thought about his best friend. Yamato rubbed his chin and asked, "So, what _did_ happen last night and why didn't you answer any of my texts and calls?"

"Like I said before—excellent question," Takeru said brightly—completely not answering the question. Yamato was unsure what he should take from that, but before he could ask Takeru to clarify, his brother said, "If I could, I'm absolutely certain that I would tell you, but we don't actually remember much of what happened after dinner."

"You don't…remember?" Yamato repeated with his eyes widening in shock. "Not anything?"

"Nope," Takeru said—far too cheerfully Yamato thought for someone who was missing at least a good twenty hours of his life. But then again, his brother had always been optimistic—sometimes almost exasperatingly so. "After Daisuke gave me and Hikari what I now seriously doubt was orange juice last night, it all gets a little fuzzy." His lip curled in thought and he added, "I seem to somewhat recall being in a park for some reason but that's about it." He gave Yamato a smile and asked, "Why don't you tell me what _you_ know?"

Yamato clenched his jaw and remembered watching Daisuke give them those drinks and turning away with a disturbingly mischievous smile. He should have known then that something was wrong—anything that had Daisuke looking like that was sure to turn south very quickly. But as it had been Miyako's wedding (Ken was there, but there was no doubt in Yamato's mind that it was _her_ wedding), he hadn't wanted to cause a scene and chance actually ruining the whole affair. Miyako could be almost as scary as an angry Sora when she was upset—and twice as likely to throw things.

He frowned in thought as he remembered what happened the night before. Finally he answered, "Well, I guess after the whole 'orange juice' thing, Hikari got kind of dazed and almost giddy—it was a little obvious that she was a bit more than just tipsy—but you just got kind of more serious; I didn't even realize that you had been affected that bad, but obvious you were just as bad as her if you can't remember what happened. You two left after a while into dinner, but I don't know exactly when as no one really noticed you were missing for some time. It was when Ken and Miyako left together after the reception that we all sort of noticed you guys were not actually there anymore. We all texted and called you, but you didn't answered—most of the others figured that you guys must have just gone home tired and went to sleep or something. But…I don't know…I just had a bad feeling."

Yamato leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest again as he sighed heavily and continued, "I came here looking for you, but when I couldn't find you and still couldn't contact you by phone, I raced down to Hikari's but you weren't there either. Then you sent me that text and I just—"

"Spent the whole rest of the night worried out of you mind," Takeru finished with a smile somewhere between exasperated and amused. Yamato confirmed his statement with a smirk and nod—his brother knew him all too well. Takeru's smile was apologetic again as he said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

Yamato smiled and reached out to ruffle Takeru's blond hair (almost the exact shade of his own), causing his brother to let out a protest and push his hand away. "I know," Yamato said as he relaxed his shoulders. "I guess this time I can chalk it all up to Daisuke's fault. Now, I need to find a shower and a change of clothes because I look terrible."

Takeru gave him a smirk of his own as he said bluntly, "Yeah, you do." Yamato reached out to wrestle with his brother's hair again, this time in mock irritation, but Takeru stepped away before he could reach him. Takeru dodged around him and called out behind him, "You can use my bathroom. I'm sure I could find you something to wear."

"Thanks, Takeru," he said. Takeru flashed him a smile before disappearing into his bedroom. Yamato heard the sound of drawers opening and closing and heaved a sigh of relief as he found his way back into the bathroom to take that much needed shower. It seemed like everything was fine and there was nothing to worry about—his brother looked completely normal. Wondering what exactly his brother once had to tell him at midnight and no longer remembered—and hoping it wasn't running around the streets, spray painting the Tokyo Tower or something (as completely unlikely as that would be)—he shrugged his shoulders, now sure that it probably hadn't really been anything at all.


	3. Comically Missing the Point

_10 August 2013_

Miyako was torn. On one hand, she was ecstatically happy to finally be married to Ken and was just fresh off her honeymoon that she'd been on for the last week. However, the dark cloud of wondering whether she should be mad or worried about her maid of honor and best friend, Hikari Yagami, was hanging over her (and the fact that Ken was gone to work, leaving her alone in their apartment, didn't exactly help things either). As usual, when she couldn't decide, she ended up just alternating between both every five seconds.

They'd gotten home (_yes…my home with Ken_, she thought fondly as she glanced around the apartment) yesterday and all Miyako had wanted to do this morning was call over her maid of honor and gush over how awesome and wonderful her honeymoon had been. She walked to the table and sat down, slumping down in her chair until her chin rested against the wood. Just then, Miyako finally decided to just be mad at Hikari, because when Miyako had called Hikari that very morning, her best friend had ignored her.

There was a knock at the door and Hikari's unmistakable voice came through the door as she called out, "Miyako? Are you home? Miyako?" Suddenly, Miyako was half-inclined to just leave her friend standing out there and pretending that she wasn't home. While she held the inner debate, Hikari knocked a little harder this time as she spoke again. "I'm sorry, okay? Miyako, please answer the door." There was another pause before Hikari added, "I brought ice cream." Miyako's feet were moving her towards the door almost before she realized it. "Double chocolate caramel—" Miyako pulled the door open as Hikari said the last word, "—fudge."

The thought of her favorite ice cream had lifted Miyako's spirit considerably, but she made sure to scowl down at her best friend, who just gave her a wide gentle smile in return. Hikari reached into the plastic sack she held in her left hand and pulled out a pint carton of ice cream. She held it out to Miyako, who hesitated for about half a second before grabbing the carton (it _was_ her favorite flavor, after all—who could resist _that_?) and walking towards the kitchen to locate two spoons, leaving the door open in an unspoken invitation for Hikari to come in. Sure enough, she heard the front door click softly shut and Hikari's quiet footsteps walking towards the couch. Miyako pulled the spoons out of the drawer and went to join her friend out in the living area.

Hikari was opening her own pint of ice cream—not double chocolate caramel fudge as Hikari enjoyed more lighter flavors (if Miyako had to guess she would say Hikari currently had strawberry meringue swirl). Miyako handed her a spoon before flopping down onto the couch and propping her feet up on the coffee table. She pulled the lid off the ice cream, tossed it onto the table, and dug out the biggest spoonful of ice cream her mouth could fit.

The two women sat in silence for a few bites until Hikari finally set down her ice cream with the spoon sticking straight up. "Miyako, look, I'm really sorry." There was real regret in her voice, but Miyako wasn't about to let her off the hook that easily.

She firmly and purposely placed a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, slowly drawing her spoon out from between her lips, before answering flatly, "As you should be."

Hikari began fiddling with her fingers in her lap. She pushed her hair behind her ear as she said with a slight flush to her cheeks, "If it's any consolation, I don't actually remember what happened."

That gave Miyako pause for about a moment until she burst out, "How can you not remember what happened? It's not like it happened that long ago." She _had_ only called her _just_ that morning.

Hikari clasped her hands together on top of her lap and let out a soft quiet, weird, little laugh. "Well, we chalked it up to Daisuke's fault, but I'm not sure we can put all the blame on him." There was a wry smile on her face.

Miyako lifted an eyebrow in disbelief. Since when did Hikari hang out with Daisuke in the early mornings? "You were with Daisuke?" she asked dubiously.

Her friend's brows furrowed together and there was definite confusion in her eyes. "No, I was with Takeru," Hikari said somewhat slowly.

Miyako scoffed as she let out a snort. "Oh, real shocker there," she said, letting the sarcasm drip heavily from her voice as she rolled her eyes.

"What?"

"Well, unless you were finally in some sort of passionate embrace this morning with him—which, by the way, if you were, I am totally telling Mimi in revenge—there's really no excuse," Miyako said gesturing wildly with her spoon. Because Miyako (and she was not alone in this—it wasn't like everyone else couldn't see it too) could see how perfectly well suited the two of them were for each other.

And Miyako didn't care what they said; normal best friends were not as intimate as those two always were with each other, _especially_ when they were a boy/girl pair _dating_ other people. Takeru and Hikari were always holding hands or cuddling on the couch when everyone else was trying to watch a movie. It was never unusual (for them, at least) to find Takeru trailing his hands through Hikari's hair or for Hikari to rub Takeru's shoulders or back. Things, you know, Miyako would normally associate with an _actual_ couple. Really, it wasn't any wonder that neither of them could hold a romantic relationship for long since their behavior never changed one iota once they started dating someone…even _in front of_ said _other_ significant others. The most that could be said about the two of them was that they didn't actually make out with each other. At least, Miyako could only assume that they didn't—she had never actually seen it happen, but with those two, who knows what could have happened?

There was a pause from Hikari after Miyako stopped speaking. Miyako expected Hikari to just roll her eyes, too and remind Miyako that the two of them did not see each other like that (cause, yeah, Miyako totally believed them every time they said that—which was at least three times a day—_how could they not see it?_, Miyako thought furiously). But instead of a denial, Hikari blurted, "What are you talking about?"

Miyako sighed heavily and said, "I called you like five times this morning and you ignored me."

Hikari blinked blankly for a few times. "Really?" she asked as her voice dropped into that almost disbelieving confused tone.

"_Yes_," Miyako iterated tersely. She was moving right along into annoyed irritation at how slow Hikari seemed to be picking up on things today. Seriously, Miyako knew she had a short temper, but she'd been on her honeymoon for the past week. What else could she possibly be angry at Hikari for? Especially since Hikari was not usually doing things that managed to annoy Miyako—that was much more in Daisuke's range of behavior.

Hikari pulled out her phone from her pocket. She pressed her finger to it and her eyes lit up in surprise. "Oh. So you did," she said shortly, and Miyako thought honestly surprised. There was a beat of silence as Hikari stared at her phone for another second before she looked back at Miyako and continued, "I think I was in the shower at the time. I came here right after I was done and I didn't even look at my phone before I put it in my pocket." Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes and said somewhat sharply, "Wait. _That's_ what you're mad about?" she asked incredulously.

"Well…yeah. Why else would I be mad?" Miyako demanded, now somewhat suspicious. Clearly, the two of them had been talking about completely different situations. And since Miyako herself could not think of any other reason why she would be mad at Hikari (once again, not a common occurrence), she wanted to find out what was going on.

"But…I left you…at your wedding…" Hikari said quietly and brokenly.

"You did?" Miyako asked surprised. She tried to think back at her reception at what incident Hikari could be talking about, but all she could remember was Ken, Ken, Ken, and the fact that there might have been cake there. Maybe.

Hikari gave her half a smile of indulgence. "You don't remember?" she asked lightly.

"Honestly, Hikari, I couldn't tell you if my mother was there," Miyako told her with a wide grin. It was exaggeration (but not by much), but she was making a point. She'd been grateful for all of Hikari's hard work (as maid of honor, she probably was the most involved with the wedding besides Miyako herself and Miyako's mother—who Miyako was sure _had _been there. And she guessed Ken, too.)

Hikari let out another little laugh, but this one was definitely normal and much lighter (unlike her previous more weird and sort of awkward one). "You are way too obsessed with Ken," she teased.

Miyako pouted her lip out at Hikari and couldn't resist a jabbing remark of, "You're just jealous that I got my man and you don't have the guts to take yours."

"Huh?" Instantly, Hikari had that innocent and blankly confused look, as if she _didn't_ know what Miyako was talking about. Then again, she was so steeped in denial (or what they are _really_ hoped was denial—they may have teased them about it, but she knew most of their friends, _honestly_ wished Takeru and Hikari were together) that she may really have no idea what Miyako was talking about.

"You know what I mean. I looked for you before I left with Ken after the reception, but Yamato told me you were with Takeru," she told her—and a sudden epiphany that _this_ was what Hikari had been talking about all along. She hadn't been worried about it while she'd been gone—wedding bliss had given her blinders to just about everything else except her new husband. Truly, she had to give serious thought to remember all the places they'd visited in Okinawa—their honeymoon destination. About all she could come up with off the top of her head was that they went to the beach…sometime…maybe. At least, she was sure she would have insisted on it.

But that was really beside the point.

Now that Hikari was apologizing for leaving that night, that clearly meant _something _had happened, and Miyako wanted to know about it. After all, their close group of friends (mostly of consisting of Takeru and Hikari's friends from their school days along with Taichi and Yamato's friends from said same days) had a long-standing bet of how the two of them would finally get together (because the long-standing bet they'd made back in high school of _when_ they would get together had expired quite a while ago).

The only two that hadn't placed bets in either case were Taichi and Yamato (though, the two brothers insisted that it wasn't for the reasons everyone thought, while never revealing the exact reasons why they didn't—Miyako had always thought it was due to some deep weird older brother aversion to thinking of their younger siblings dating _anybody_, but she didn't know if that was what it was or not. Goodness knows Miyako had heard more about her sisters' boyfriends than she'd ever wanted to). And Miyako's money was on them getting together with a romantic underwater kiss at the beach. It was a little fantastical, but it was not as bad as Mimi's theory was in that regard**.** So, she was eager to hear all the details of what Hikari had to say. She grinned at her best friend and said, "So, spill."

Hikari's silence was not one of the two reactions Miyako was expecting (the first—and most likely—being a blatant denial like always or the second—and most hopeful—being _finally_ an admittance of Hikari's undying love for Takeru). But this silence was not what she was expecting as Hikari lowered her gaze and picked at invisible lint on her jean shorts. Miyako's jaw dropped as she slowly lowered her ice cream carton and placed it on the coffee table. She pulled her feet off the table to the floor and leaned towards her friend. "Hikari?" she spoke in a gentle voice. "Did something happen?"

"…No…maybe…I don't know," she finished, spreading out her hands in front of her in a sign of bewilderment.

"Hikari, that was not an answer," Miyako stated flatly, not understanding what Hikari was saying _at all._

"I know," she sighed. A few seconds later, Hikari shook her head slightly and continued to speak. "You know what? Never mind. Nothing happened between us and nothing ever will, Miyako. We don't love each other that way." She reached back into her bag and pulled out a DVD case. With a genuine smile now, she said, "Now, I brought our favorite chick flick. Do you want to watch?"

"Absolutely," Miyako said, picking up her ice cream and stuffing another large scoop of it into her mouth.

* * *

><p>Sora pulled the book of sheet music off the shelf and flicked quickly through it. It had some guitar covers of more recent and popular songs that were being played on the radio every five minutes. She sighed and closed it as she put it back on the shelf—definitely not his style.<p>

A heavier (and completely dramatized) sigh came from the man behind her. Sora just barely managed to not roll her eyes. "Why am I here again?" he asked.

"He's _your _best friend, Taichi," Sora pointed out as she picked up a different book of music to flip through. She eyed him out of the corner of her eye as she placed the second book back (classical music was even less his style). They'd been married for just over a year now (and friends for _far_ longer than that), so knew well that this was probably going to be his reaction to her insistence that he come with her.

Taichi place his hands behind his head as he said, "Yeah, I know that. Still doesn't explain why I had to come. Why can't you just buy it and then say it's from both of us?" That light appeared in his eyes that Sora knew meant some idea had just occurred to him. He lowered his hands back to his sides and grinned as he asked, "Better yet, why didn't we just ask Mimi to do it?"

"It doesn't work like that," Sora said with an exasperated smile at him.

"Why not?" Taichi asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "My opinion isn't going to matter with whatever you're going to pick out," he finished with a wave of his hand at the shelf of books in front of them.

"I'm not having a repeat of what happened last year," Sora said as she picked up a third book from the shelf and began to leaf through it. It was full of more classic rock songs—a possibility.

"That worked out in the end, though, right? I mean, I couldn't spoil it and tell Yamato what his present was and we were both surprised." Sora looked up at Taichi to find him grinning down at her. She felt a smile twitching at her lips at the fact that he looked just so hopeful. Seeing that he had her attention, he continued, "And I like surprises. It was a win-win, all around."

Sora's lips pursed together as she remembered what happened last year again. She said flatly, "Except for me."

"I don't know," Taichi said slowly. "I seem to remember that you banned me from the shopping trip last year because you were tired of me complaining all the time."

"That was because you had a cold and were being a baby about it," she said with a mild teasing tone as she checked the back of the book for the price.

"It was not _just_ a cold!" Taichi protested vehemently after sputtering for a few seconds at Sora's comment. "I felt like I was going to die."

Sora couldn't help but giggle slightly at his tone of voice. "Taichi, you're being dramatic," she told him with a small smile. She put the book under the crook of her arm as a definite possible choice. She continued, unable to resist teasing him some more, "You had a sore throat and a stuffy nose. You didn't even have a fever. It was a cold."

He scratched the back of his head rather sheepishly as he said, "Yeah…well…I don't get sick very often, so I'm not used to it."

"Well, you know what they say about those who don't get sick…" she trailed off as she waggled her eyebrows at him.

Taichi apparently grasped her meaning immediately as he asked, "Are you calling me an idiot?"

"A lovable one, though," Sora said with a smile and a quick peck on his cheek. "Now, Yamato's birthday is four days away, so let's just find him a gift, all right?"

He huffed, but still he pulled a book of the shelf and muttered petulantly, "Fine." But Sora just smiled and shook her head at him.

* * *

><p>Mimi dug further into her closet in a fruitless attempt to locate her missing purse. It didn't really matter to her that she had about ten other purses to choose from, she wanted this specific one today. Finally, she sat down with a sigh and blew a stray lock of hair off of her face. She glanced around her room that she had shared with her husband, Jyou, for about a year and a half now. The room most certainly had seen better days. She hadn't really noticed the mess she'd been making while searching for her purse. She made a note to quickly clean it up before Jyou saw it. Jyou had definitely gotten used to the fact that Mimi was not quite such a neat freak as much as he was (and vice versa on her part), but Mimi did like to try not to annoy him too much with her messes. But right now, first things first, she <em>had<em> to find her purse.

She walked out of the bedroom door and into the living area, where Jyou was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table with his laptop and a lot of papers from work spread out around him. He was tapping a pencil against his lip in thought as she approached him and asked, "Jyou, have you seen my magenta purse?"

He jumped slightly and turned to look at her with startled panic in his eyes. The moment their eyes made contact, however, his expression softened, but that didn't stop him from saying, "I'm sorry, Mimi. What did you ask?" Mimi smiled and asked again if he'd seen her purse. Jyou frowned and Mimi could tell that he was seriously thinking about it. "Magenta is pink, right?" he asked slowly.

"Yes," Mimi replied as she let out a slight giggle.

"I think it was on the dresser," Jyou said with his brows still burrowed slightly in thought.

Mimi smiled broadly and thanked him. She didn't remember seeing it on the dresser—and since she hadn't used it in a while, she couldn't think of why it was on the dresser in the first place. But it was possible that she could have just missed it _because_ it was in such an obvious place. She walked back into the bedroom and made a beeline for the dresser. Sitting on it was a purse—even a pink one at that—but not the one that she was looking for. She picked it up and walked back out into the living area. She marched back to her husband and said (startling him again), "Jyou, this is my rose purse. I'm looking for my _magenta_ purse."

He looked at her blankly for a few seconds. After a few glances between her and the purse in her hand, he asked, "What's the difference?"

"For starters, one is magenta and one is rose," Mimi stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Magenta and rose were, after all, completely different.

"Aren't those both pink?" Jyou asked somewhat confused.

Okay, so maybe magenta and rose weren't _completely_ different. But there were _not_ the same. So, Mimi said, insistently, "But they're _different _pinks."

A knowing smile tugged the corner of Jyou's mouth up. "Mimi," he said, and Mimi knew that he was gently reminding her to come back to her real goal.

"Fine, okay. The one I'm looking for is a hobo—I mean it has one strap," she corrected herself quickly, reminding her that Jyou—despite living with her for coming onto two years now—probably had absolutely no idea what a hobo bag was. She continued, "This one has two. See?" she added and held up the purse in her hand to show him.

"Oh. I think I know the one you're talking about," Jyou said as the light of revelation bloomed in his eyes.

"Great," Mimi said as she clapped her hands together and smiled widely. "Have you seen it?"

"No, I haven't," Jyou said apologetically with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Mimi threw her arms into the air and gave a frustrated sigh at the world before returning back to the bedroom to scourge through her items again for the lost purse.


	4. Fire Forged Friends

_30 March 1996_

The alive rush of spring buzzed through the air. Trees bloomed and their flowers' colored petals fell like bright rain every time the wind brushed through their boughs. As it was the last Saturday of freedom due to the spring recess between school years, so every playground throughout the city was full of the sounds of children playing. The sun was shining, and, admittedly, it was the first actual warm day of the year—where one could run around in short sleeves without the confines of a jacket—so, there was little more anyone could expect from them.

One young boy in particular, Taichi Yagami, seven years old and self-proclaimed greatest soccer player in the world (someday), was extremely pleased with himself. He'd just managed to juggle the ball over _fifty_ times, a new record for him (though now he'd made the immediate goal to get to one hundred). Taking a moment's break, however, he picked up the soccer ball in his hands, and then he looked over at the swings to check on his four year old sister, Hikari. She was smiling and laughing with some blond kid—who was probably four or five himself—that he didn't know. A twinge of unease flashed through him, but Hikari looked happy, and the kid wasn't doing anything but swinging beside her.

After a moment of indecision, he finally shrugged and dropped the soccer ball back to the ground. He backed up a step before he swung his foot forward and kicked the ball…a little too hard. It went sailing into the air. Taichi could only watch as it landed smack on the back of the head of some kid who had been sitting on the ground facing the swings. It knocked the boy forward and bounced back, coming to rest between them.

Taichi began to run over to the other boy, picking up his soccer ball along the way. The boy was rubbing the back of his blond head as he sat back up. Taichi came running up to him saying, "I'm sorry, man." The boy froze as soon as Taichi spoke. Taichi frowned at the reaction but continued, "I didn't mean—"

He cut off as the boy whipped around, and Taichi saw a pair of familiar cold blue eyes with an accompanying scowling grimace. "I should have known," the boy said darkly as he came to his feet, glowering at Taichi the whole time.

"Oh. It's you," Taichi said as he came face to face with none other than Yamato Ishida—his sworn enemy from his first grade class. Taichi wasn't even sure what started the whole thing—it had just seemed like their personalities had clashed on day one when they met for the first time last April when they ended up in the same first grade class. They'd spent the whole last year arguing about _everything_. And it appeared that another argument was, at this point, inevitable.

And there was no Sora around to break it up this time.

"Why can't you ever be more careful?" Yamato asked harshly, his volume not yet quite as loud as Taichi knew it was bound to get by the end of their fight.

Taichi dropped his soccer ball to the ground and trapped it under his foot as he crossed his arms in front of his chest defensively. "Look," he said flatly. "I didn't even mean to hit you, all right? It was an accident," he explained as calmly as he could—even if she wasn't there, Sora would be so mad to hear that they fought again.

"I'm sure it was," Yamato bit out sarcastically, crossing his own arms in front of his chest.

Taichi clenched his hands into fists. "It's true! I just kicked the ball too hard on _accident_," he said, emphasizing the last word as much as he could. It was, after all, true—he hadn't even known it was Yamato until the other boy had turned around. "I didn't even know you were here!"

Yamato rolled his eyes and scoffed at him. "That's just so like you," he said and Taichi swore he could hear disgust in his tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Taichi demanded.

"You never take the time to look around you and _think_ about who might get hurt by what you do," Yamato told him hotly.

"That's a lie!" Taichi screamed at him.

"Fine, then. Tell me _one time_ when you thought about someone else first." When Taichi didn't answer immediately, Yamato smirked smugly and triumphantly stated, "See? I told you!"

But Taichi cut him off with a shove. "Shut up!"

Yamato made a sound of disgust. "Stop acting like a fight is going to solve all your problems!"

"Yeah? Well, at least I won't have to—"

But he stopped when a scream pierced through the air in a voice far too familiar. Taichi looked over at the swings to see Hikari laying face down in front of the swing she had just been sitting on. Two boys—probably not even a year older than Taichi—stood behind the swing, smiling maliciously. Instantly, Taichi knew that they boys had pushed Hikari off her swing.

His fight with Yamato completely forgotten in favor of rescuing his sister, Taichi yelled out his sister's name as he began to run toward the swings. As he ran, he saw the blond kid Hikari had been swinging and laughing with jump down from his own swing and help Hikari up to her knees. He stood up to face the bullies—_brave kid_, Taichi thought admirably—and Taichi heard him say, "Hey! You leave her alone!"

The bullies answered him by pushing the boy to the ground, too. Taichi heard Yamato, just behind him—_had he been following the whole time?_—call out, "Takeru!" as the boy hit the ground on his back.

The two of them arrived at the swings almost at the same moment a second later. Taichi stepped protectively in front of Hikari (out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yamato do the same with the boy—who he assumed was called Takeru) and said, "Don't you dare mess with my sister!"

At the exact same time, Yamato punched his fist into his palm and said, "You'll pay for hurting my brother."

The two bullies—who were just barely taller than the two boys—stepped up to Taichi and Yamato and folded their arms across their chests. "What are you gonna do about it?" one asked scathingly.

Taichi and Yamato looked at each other and, for the first time, a look of complete mutual understanding passed between them—Taichi grinned genuinely while Yamato's smirk held none of its usual bite as it normally did when directed at Taichi. At the same time, they turned to the bullies and each threw a punch straight at their faces, causing both of the other boys to stagger back a step from the blows.

"You little punks," one of them yelled as both of them rubbed their cheeks where they had both been punched.

Taichi and Yamato continued to exchange blows with the other boys until, inevitably, it attracted the attention of an adult. Unfortunately for Taichi and Yamato, it was the mother of one of the boys that came rushing over screaming, "Stop! What are you doing to my son?"

Almost as if by magic (some other worldly power that only mothers seemed to possess) all four boys involved froze instantly and then practically jumped away from each other. The mother rushed her arms around her son and glared at Taichi and Yamato so fiercely that Taichi could just barely stop himself from flinching. "Why were you hitting my son?" she demanded.

Taichi sputtered for a few moments in indignation of how she _accuse _him when it should have been the other way around before he pointed back at Hikari and said, "He pushed my sister off the swing!"

"And shoved my brother to the ground!" Yamato added immediately after as he folded his arms defiantly across his chest.

The mother sniffed at them and said, _unbelievably_, "You must be mistaken. My son couldn't hurt anybody." Then she turned and led her son and his friend away from Taichi and Yamato.

Taichi stared after her incredulously, almost unable to believe that woman could honestly think that her kid couldn't hurt anybody. "And who am I? Nobody?" he yelled after her, long after she wouldn't have even been able to hear him anymore.

Yamato added with a scoff, "I know, right? That woman is in denial with a capital D."

"I guess it's not any wonder where he gets it from," Taichi said, turning a grin on Yamato.

Yamato smirked. "No kidding," he agreed and then both he and Taichi laughed. A few seconds later, however, he finally realizing that he was laughing _with_ Yamato, Taichi's laugh sort of just trailed off awkwardly as did Yamato. For a few moments, he just looked up at the sky, wondering what to do next.

"Do you want to go play in the sandbox, Hikari?" Takeru suddenly asked.

Taichi looked over at the two younger children. Hikari smiled at the blond boy and said, "Sure." Takeru grabbed her hand (an automatic twinge flashed through Taichi) and they ran over to the sandbox. Taichi followed, minutely noticing that Yamato was walking alongside him. Together, they sat down on the grass as Hikari and Takeru pulled off their shoes for playing in the sandbox. Taichi rubbed his bruised cheek gingerly, and could see out of the corner of his eye Yamato touching his split lip lightly.

"So…" Taichi began after a few moments of silently nursing their wounds. He scrambled for something to say and finally said, "Your brother's a pretty cool kid." He was thinking about how Takeru had stood up to those bullies for his sister.

Yamato looked at Taichi with a puzzled confused expression. "Yeah," he finally said in a somewhat questioning tone.

"And…maybe, you know," Taichi added as he sort of scoffed at the dirt with the tip of his shoe. "You're not so bad yourself," he finished quickly with a shrug as he leaned back on his hands and looked at the sky.

"Taichi, would you just spit out what you want to say?" Yamato demanded with an exasperated sigh. Taichi looked back at Yamato who had his arms folded across his chest and a cross expression on his face.

He gave the other boy a shrug and rubbed the back of his head with one of his hands. "I just thought that, you know, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if we were…um…friends," he said brokenly and finishing up with a sort of hopeful half-smile in Yamato's direction.

"You want to be friends?" Yamato asked with surprise clearly evident in his eyes. "With me?" he added for clarification.

Taichi pouted his lips out for a moment before he said, "Look, I know we didn't get off on the right foot."

"You can say that again," Yamato interrupted with a mutter.

Taichi shot him a glare and was about to make a snide remark (out of habit), but then he remembered that he wanted to be friends with Yamato now, so he decided to just laugh at the comment and was sort of surprised by how good it felt to just laugh rather than get angry. He even saw the beginnings of a true smile curl at the corner of Yamato's lips. Encouraged (and having the beginning of the realization that being sarcastic was just how Yamato _was_), Taichi continued, "I mean, come on. Hikari and Takeru get along, so maybe we should just get along, too!"

Yamato was quiet for a moment as he turned away and watched their siblings playing peacefully together in the sandbox. Suddenly, he laughed as he looked at Taichi again. "Sure, why not?" he said.

* * *

><p><em>1 April 1996<em>

Sora Takenouchi walked into her second grade classroom with a heavy heart and a slump to her shoulders, suddenly not quite looking forward to the school year as much as she had that morning when she left her house. She had just come from checking the class lists only to discover that she had been placed in the same class with Taichi and Yamato again.

She liked both boys well enough—just not at the same time or the same place. She'd been the only one last year willing to step in and break up the arguments between them. As such, she ended up being the one each of them complained to about the other, and she had become friends with both of them.

The best solution (to her, anyway) would have been to have all three of them in different classes (because having just the two of them in the same class would have opened a whole different can of worms whether it would have been just the two of them or one of them with Sora). She slid the door to the classroom open with a sigh and looked around. A few students were already there, sprinkled around the room, including Yamato. Taichi, unsurprisingly, was not there yet.

Sora approached Yamato and sat down at the desk next to him as she said, "Hey, Yamato." She waited for him to look at her before she asked, "How was your break?"

Yamato smiled and said, "Good." As an almost wistful faraway look crossed his expression, he added, "And unexpected."

Before she could ask him what he meant by that, the door slid open with a bang and Sora knew without looking that Taichi would be standing there (and sure enough, he was as she turned to look). As he walked over to where she and Yamato were sitting, he called out, "Hey, Yamato!"

Sora sighed and let her head hit the desktop, knowing what was about to happen. She couldn't believe they weren't going to let it rest for at least _one minute_ before they found something to argue about. But what came out of his mouth next was not an insult or any sort of snide remark as Sora had been expecting but rather just a question.

"Do you want to come over to my house tomorrow?" Taichi asked. Sora, lifting her head slowly, was sure she was dreaming and could not have heard what he had just said correctly. She gaped at the two of them with her mouth hanging open as Taichi continued with a rather fond half of a smile, "Hikari's been bugging me about seeing Takeru again."

Yamato gave a friendly smirk back as he said, "Yeah, Takeru's been the same about her. I'd have to ask my mom, but I'm sure that be fine."

"Sweet!" Taichi said as he placed his hands behind his head with a cheeky grin.

"And it's Takeru's birthday on Saturday, by the way, and he wants Hikari to come," Yamato continued.

"Yeah, sure," Taichi said airily. "I'm sure my mom'd be okay with that."

"Wait," Sora finally interjected as she got over her surprise to talk. Taichi and Yamato both turned to look at her with questioning expressions. "You're not fighting?" she asked confused.

Taichi grinned and wrapped his arm around Yamato's neck as he said, "No way! We're best buds now."

"Taichi, let go of me before I hit you," Yamato said flatly as he glared sideways at the other boy.

"Ah, you don't mean that," Taichi said as he rubbed Yamato's head.

"Yes, I do!" Yamato said emphatically as he pushed Taichi's hands away. "And _don't_ touch the hair!" he finished as he reached up to attempt to fix what Taichi had put in disarray.

"Come on. It's just hair," Taichi said with a shrug and an eye roll. "It's not that big a deal."

Sora glanced between the two of them as they continued to exchange words. Her first reaction was to think that it had just been too good to be true that they had actually become friends, but then she realized that they weren't actually…_fighting_. The harsh edge to their words that had been ever present last year was gone. They were just…_bickering_. Like…like…_friends_, she thought incredulously.

Unable to help herself, Sora began to laugh, partly in amusement and partly in relief. Simultaneously, the boys turned to her and asked, "What?"

"You've really become friends, haven't you?" Sora asked with a wide smile.

Taichi looked at Yamato and grinned again, while the other boy just rolled his eyes in response. "Yep!" Taichi replied brightly.

"How did that happen?" Sora asked, leaning forward eagerly to hear the story of how the two boys (who couldn't even stand the sight of each other a few weeks ago) could have miraculously become friends—and rather good friends by the way they bickered good-naturedly.

Taichi and Yamato glanced at each other again, something almost like panic in their eyes. At the same moment (again), they looked at Sora and (Taichi with another grin and Yamato with his iconic smirk) said, "Not telling!"

"Hey!" Sora cried indignantly, but both boys just laughed at her. But then she just sighed and shrugged. She guessed she should just be glad that the next school year was looking much brighter than it had earlier that morning.


	5. Separated by the Wall

_12 September 2009_

There was something distinctly unfair and wrong about going to school on your birthday. Or so Daisuke thought. But he didn't think anyone could blame him. All year long, he'd been looking forward to having his birthday for the first time on Saturday since first grade (the stupid leap year had cheated him out of it last time—who had thought _those_ were a good idea anyway?). But the teacher just _had_ to announce that they had extra classes for this morning. And what was up with that? They were only two weeks into the trimester!

So, it was with great reluctance that he trudged himself out of the apartment that morning and started the walk to school. In complete contrast to his mood, the sky was wide and bright blue with only a few white wisps of clouds streaked across it. There was a soft warm breeze as the air had not quite switched from summer's heat to autumn's cool breath. A few trees were just barely beginning to change their colors, leaving red and gold spots showing brightly among the green leaves. All in all, if any day could be called perfect, this day might very well have ranked almost on the top of the list.

This did not help Daisuke's mood in the slightest.

He was about halfway to the school, muttering nonsense darkly under his breath and kicking a small stone in front of him, when he heard someone call out his name. Daisuke turned to look, and his mood did an instant turnaround as he saw Hikari running to catch up with him. He stopped to wait for her and stayed standing where he was as she stopped with her hands on her knees to catch her breath. A few seconds later, she let out one final deep breath and looked up at him with a smile as she said, "Happy birthday, Daisuke!"

Daisuke couldn't help but smile back as he said, "Thanks, Hikari." They continued walking toward the school, but after a few seconds, Daisuke realized that someone was missing, kind of surprised at himself because, really, he could care less about the guy. "Where's what's-his-name? Hami? Hayato?" Daisuke asked as he looked around for Hikari's absent boyfriend, who had always walked with her to school every day since the beginning of the trimester after they started dating about a month ago. Or was it two months?

A slight twitch on the corner of her lips was the only change in her expression, which remained in her usual cheerful state, as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "It was Hayami, and he's in your class, so you should know that," she said and Daisuke got the impression that she found something funny.

"Yeah, whatever," Daisuke said. He knew the names of his friends and his teammates, so really was there a need to know anyone else? It wasn't like he actually talked to those people and if he ever needed to know their names, there was always Miyako (who was in his class, on the student council, and seemed to know a whole lot more stuff about everyone in the school than strictly necessary). After all, she could name (in chronological order, alphabetical order, and in rank by how long they had dated them) every person that had ever dated anyone in their group of friends (and maybe the whole school).

Last year, Daisuke, himself, had gone a total of one date with Hikari, which was all it took for him to realize that had hadn't actually been in love with Hikari, like he'd always thought he'd been since about third grade. Sure, he liked her and thought she was pretty, and he may have actually really _liked _liked her at some point, but he wasn't in love with her. He had just been sort of in love with the idea of being in love with Hikari. So, it wasn't actually with much regret that they parted that night with decision to just stay friends rather than to try the whole dating thing.

Hikari gave a small sigh as she turned her eyes back in front of her. She waved her hand dismissively as she said, "Anyway, we broke up last night."

Daisuke eyebrows rose only about a half a centimeter because, while it was a shock, it wasn't really that surprising. But, figuring he should try be a nice supporting friend, he asked, "Really? What happened?"

Making a slightly irritated sound at the back of her thought, she launched into her story. "He called me yesterday and wanted to do something, but I told him I'd already had plans to see a movie with Takeru," she said finishing with a roll of her eyes before she continued, "Then he just got really angry for some reason, saying that I should be putting him above my friends. But I told him we had made these plans a long time ago, and it wouldn't be right to leave Takeru, especially since we'd already bought the tickets. He yelled some more, finally saying that I just had to choose—him or Takeru. So, I told him good-bye and hung up the phone."

"Wow," Daisuke said, unsure of what else he should say. Pep talks during a game? He could fly through those like nobody's business. Telling someone off for hurting one of his friends? Absolutely no problem. Talking to a girl after breaking up with her boyfriend? Well…there was a reason people said men didn't like to talk about their feelings or that they couldn't understand. Because they _didn't_. Really, girls just had to complicate everything with things like tears and high-pitched voices. He'd rather just, you know, punch each other and then go bond over popcorn and sports. He rubbed the back of his head, because he knew that he had to say _something_. So he just with the universal words of, "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I already talked to Takeru about it."

Right. Of course she had; he should have thought of that. He pressed his lips out to the side in thought as he asked (with the sudden irrational urge not to be beaten out by Takeru that still flared up from time to time, though he had long ago accepted that he wasn't really ever going to win the whole "being the closest to Hikari" war against him), "Isn't that what happened last time with…uh…Ryouta?"

Hikari covered her mouth with her fist as a small giggle escaped her. "It was Kyouta, and yes," she said with her eyes still sparkling in mirth. Suddenly, her eyes took on a faraway sort of glazed look as she added, "It happened with Matsuda and Yuuki, too." Moments later, however, she shook her head slightly and smiled again as she said, "But it's your birthday! We shouldn't be talking about that. We're going to karaoke, right?"

Trying not to sigh in relief that they had moved on from _that_ subject, Daisuke happily let the conversation move onto his upcoming birthday party that was going to be that evening. That led them right to the school and all the way to Hikari's classroom. Daisuke stopped only long enough to say good morning to Ken (who shared a class with Hikari that year) before he moved a few doors down to his own classroom. The normal bustle of before school conversations met him as he slid the door open and stepped in. He did a quick glance through the class (stopping only for a brief gaze at Kohana, his current crush) and spotted Takeru and Miyako chatting by her desk near the window.

Tossing his bag casually onto the top of his desk, he started to walk over to them, when, on his way past, he noticed a somewhat familiar dark-haired boy giving a death glare in the direction of Takeru and Miyako. It took him a second to realize it was Haya-something (he'd forgotten already and yet honestly didn't really care), which meant he was probably actually really just glaring at Takeru.

Takeru, on his part, either didn't care or didn't notice as he carried on his conversation with Miyako as if nothing was wrong. Shrugging—really, the guy should have known better than to make Hikari choose between him and Takeru—he ignored whatever-his-name-was and continued toward his friends. Even _he_, Daisuke, had participated in The Bet back when he still had that crush on Hikari.

The Bet had started as a joke the first day of Mimi's It's My Last Summer In High School So I'm Doing Something Absolutely Fabulous And Freaking Crazy Insane And I'm Taking You All Down With Me Beach Extravaganza (only the last two words had been how Mimi had introduced the idea to them—the rest had been courtesy of Taichi and Yamato), which had been a three night trip their whole group had taken the last weekend in July in the summer of his first year of high school. Everyone (except Taichi and Yamato for some reason they wouldn't explain) had taken part in it. In fact, it was mostly due to his falling out of the running to win that prompted him to ask Hikari out seriously in the first place. Now that he thought about it, there weren't that many people left in the running at all. All the girls were out, but he was certain Koushiro was still in. Maybe Ken too and possibly Jyou…

As he was trying to figure it out, he finally reached his two friends. He was promptly dragged from his thoughts as Takeru smiled at him and said, "Morning and happy birthday, Daisuke."

This gave Daisuke a moment's pause before he banged his fist in his palm and exclaimed, "Oh, right! It _is_ my birthday!" Somehow, that fact had completely slipped his mind as his thoughts had been dragged away to The Bet.

Promptly, Takeru began to laugh, though Miyako rolled her eyes, scoffed, and said, "Seriously? What kind of bozo forgets his own birthday?"

Daisuke folded his arms and puffed out his chest as he protested, "I didn't forget; I just didn't remember."

"That's the same thing, moron," Miyako replied with another eye roll. But then she looked at something over his shoulder. "Why is Hayami staring daggers at us?" Daisuke's arms dropped back to his side as his anger immediately deflated once she mentioned this—_oh, right, _that's_ what his name is_—and he turned to look once more at Hikari's ex-boyfriend, whose glare was seemingly etched into his expression and showed no sign of stopping.

"It's probably just at me actually," Takeru said in a light tone, but he didn't sound surprised, so Daisuke assumed that he _had_ noticed and so was on the "not caring" side of the spectrum. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the windowsill as he said, "Hikari broke up with him yesterday."

"Really?" Miyako asked, sounding not surprised or even concerned but actually strangle elated. She nodded and the corners of her lips curled up into a smile that was _almost_ a smirk. "Well, it's about time. I was so ready for them to be over two weeks ago," she said with a wave of her hand for emphasis.

"Why?" Daisuke turned his gaze back to his friends to ask—because, nope, he had _not_ just been staring at Kohana again—as he was honestly confused by Miyako's statement. Seriously, who not only wanted but _expected_ their best friend to break up with someone?

"He's cute and all and was nice enough at first, but then he got all clingy and overbearing. Hey, you know, Takeru, she's free now."

"I…" Takeru started to say but didn't get much further than that as Miyako interrupted him.

"I know, I know," she said waving her hand again. "You don't see her that way. Uh-huh."

Takeru nodded, his normal smile remaining on his face (it'd been said so many times, Daisuke figured he was probably well past the point where those kind of insinuations and statements bothered him anymore). In fact, he didn't look annoyed as all as he spoke again. "While true, I was actually going to point out that I have a girlfriend, remember?" he asked as he raised a single eyebrow.

"Right. Asako," Miyako said flatly with another one of her eye rolls.

At this, Takeru's face turned into a slight frown as he asked, "What do you have against Asako?"

Miyako's mouth opened and closed blankly a few times before she said, "She's just so…so…_perky_!" she finished as she threw her arms up.

"Wait. You don't like her because she's too _cheerful_?" Daisuke asked incredulously (still not throwing glances in Kohana's direction, by the way) because that was kind of a ridiculous thing to say because a quite a few of their inner ring of friends could be labeled as cheerful (Mimi, Takeru, and Taichi to name a few, not to mention Miyako _herself_ when she was in a good mood).

Miyako furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she said, "I didn't say I didn't like her."

"Yes, you did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Not."

"Too."

"Guys, seriously?" Takeru broke in at this point with an amused smile and slightly raised eyebrows.

"Right, sorry," Miyako said slightly sheepishly and Daisuke folded his arms with a huff of indignation. "Anyway," Miyako continued, "as I was saying, Asako's fine, but I bet if I asked you right now who you'd rather spend time with, I'd know the answer." When Takeru didn't answer, Miyako's expression turned smug. "That's what I thought."

"Miyako, while I appreciated your concern and I know you only say those things because you really want me to be happy, I don't think it's really matters," he said. He turned his gaze out the window and after a few seconds of silence, Daisuke figured he wasn't going to expand on the sentence. Miyako looked at him and Daisuke just gave her a shrug, because he had no idea what Takeru meant by that. Miyako looked back at Takeru and opened her mouth, but Takeru surprised them by speaking again. "Because I don't plan on ever being in love," Takeru finished so quietly that they barely heard.

It was at that moment when the teacher—with that impeccable timing to interrupt conversations at their most interesting moments that teachers seemed to possess—came in and instructed them all to take their seats. The three friends parted and went to their own desks, Daisuke finding his gaze once again drifting to Kohana and she led his thoughts away from the cryptic statement that Takeru had left them with. As the teacher started to drone on, Daisuke slipped into his usual stupor—daydreaming about his party that evening and Kohana being terribly impressed by his epic karaoke skills.

* * *

><p>Miyako had a plan—she'd corner him at lunch. Hikari was back sitting with them at lunch around their cluster of desks in Miyako, Takeru, and Daisuke's classroom—which was now only missing one from their normal members (herself, Ken, Daisuke, Iori, Hikari, and the currently missing Takeru). Hayami was still staring daggers at them (though he seemed to have changed targets from Takeru to Hikari now that she was within sight), but Hikari was seemingly oblivious as she held a conversation with Ken and Daisuke. Iori was as quiet as ever—Takeru had sort of just adopted the kid back in middle school as he and Iori (along with Miyako) lived in the same apartment complex, and the rest of them had found it sort of easy to just welcome him into their group since Iori was very mature and responsible for his age, making it very easy to forget that he was two years younger than them.<p>

Takeru was sitting with his girlfriend at his desk, as any one of them was wont to do when dating someone. It was fairly rare for the people they dated to join their group for one reason or another. Miyako watched them with her bottom lip tucked under her teeth. Asako was very pretty with long raven locks and wide doe-like brown eyes. Her complexion was ivory and nearly flawless, and she just had that bright look to her that seemed to just be a characteristic of those people who were just genuinely happy and cheerful.

She was also a complete ditz.

Not an idiot—Miyako had seen where she fell on exam scores and Asako landed right within the average range (no worse than Daisuke). She was just an airhead to put it bluntly. And it wasn't a bad thing (after all, Miyako adored her friend Mimi, who could also tend to have airheaded tendencies), but Miyako always saw Takeru with a more level-headed girl. Or maybe since she just always saw him ending up with Hikari she constantly compared everyone he dated to her.

After all, she'd done the same thing with the few boys she dated before she and Ken started dating this summer (excepting that she'd compared the boys to Ken rather than Hikari). But what could Takeru have meant before? Words like that spoke of hurt and bitterness, but he'd never seemed to have either of those emotions in abundance as long as Miyako had known him, especially given that he hadn't seemed to be acting on them based on the fact that he'd dated girls (a new one on average every five-ish months since about the middle of their second year in middle school—though to her knowledge (and she knew _a lot_), not one of his relationships had lasted more than three months—eerily similar to Hikari, in fact). But _what_ could he have meant?

"What do you think, Miyako?"

It took her half a second to realize that Ken had asked her a question, seeing as the question was quite in line with her thoughts. She turned to find her friends staring at her expectantly (well, Ken, Hikari, and Iori were at least—Daisuke was actually again eyeing a brown-haired girl named Kohana sitting with her friends across the room), and she also realized that she had no idea what they were talking about. She weighed her options and found her need to know things winning out as she stood up and said, "I'll see you later, guys."

She took a few steps toward where Takeru was sitting before a thought flashed across her mind and she stopped and turned back. Ignoring the slightly startled looks on her friends faces, she rested her hands on the desk Daisuke was sitting at and leaned in, forcing his gaze up to her. She smiled knowingly and said, "Just ask her out. Trust me, she'll say yes. In fact, invite her to your birthday party tonight. It's kind of a late notice, but it can't be helped."

Satisfied, she continued her mission toward Takeru and ignored Daisuke's shout of "What?" that came from behind her. Both Takeru and Asako smiled at her when she stopped by their desk, and while Asako's was of a normal brightness, Takeru's held some questioning confusion.

"Hello, Inoue," Asako greeted warmly as Miyako stopped by their desk. "How can we help you?"

Miyako tugged on Takeru's sleeve and gave Asako her best smile as she said, "Actually, I just need to borrow Takeru here for a minute. Is that all right?"

"Sure!" Asako answered. "I'll see you after school, okay?" she told Takeru with her wide innocent eyes.

Suppressing a smirk (because since she'd gotten Asako to agree first, Takeru couldn't very well _refuse_ now—man, she _loved_ manipulation when it worked for her), Miyako tugged a little more insistently on his sleeve. "I'll wait for you by the door," Takeru said to Asako as he stood up.

"Bye, bye," was Asako's bright reply as Miyako led Takeru away and out of the classroom.

Not one to leave anything to silence, Miyako chattered about nothing—small talk as one might call it—as she led him to their destination (the roof). Takeru let her talk and didn't say anything until it was clear what their destination was. "Isn't the roof off-limits to students?" he asked wryly as they stopped in front of the doors.

"Absolutely," Miyako agreed as she dug into her pocket. "But I have a key," she said as she pulled out her key chain. She quickly located the right key and unlocked the door. Swinging it open, she grinned at Takeru and said, "Benefits of being on the student council."

"I think that's actually more abuse of power," Takeru said in an amused tone as he followed her onto the roof.

"Meh…technicalities," Miyako said as she swept her hand in the air. She came to a stop and fell silent. Takeru stood behind her—he must have stopped a few feet behind her because he wasn't close enough for her to feel him there. There was only a few seconds of silence between them before Miyako—who, for the most part, never had trouble saying exactly what was on her mind—whirled around and placed her hands on her hips. "What did you mean this morning when you said you didn't plan on falling in love?" she asked bluntly.

"Ah," Takeru said as he folded his arms across his chest. He dropped his gaze slightly before he said, "What do you think I meant?"

Miyako threw her arms up and let out a sigh of exasperation. "If I knew that, do you think I would be asking you?"

"Good point," he said as he raised his gaze and grinned at her. After another pause, he took a breath and said, "I guess it means exactly what I said. I'm not saying that it won't ever happen, but I'm not planning on it."

Miyako tilted her head to the side as she studied him. This obviously wasn't some spur of the moment thought. This was something he'd probably thought a lot about and something he had decided on a while ago. But what kind of high school kid decided on something like that? Those were the thoughts of confirmed old bachelors and such. Old people like…like…_thirty_ year olds. But then Miyako remembered something and asked, "Does this have anything to do with Hikari?"

He let out a short laugh and said, "No. It has absolutely nothing to do with Hikari." His expression turned softer as he said, "If anything…" but then he trailed off without finishing.

"What?" Miyako asked eagerly, sensing that somehow, the end of that sentence was something she _really_ wanted to hear.

Then, of course, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Miyako was inclined to ignore it (just this once) if it meant getting closer to the truth. But Takeru glanced back at the door and said, "We should get back to class." And Miyako knew that at that moment that she would probably never get anything more out of him. So, she reluctantly plodded back with Takeru to class for the final hour of the day.

* * *

><p>The karaoke party had been in full swing, but now everyone was splitting off into groups to walk home, saying their good-byes and telling each other how much fun they had and that they should definitely do it again sometime. Takeru would admit that Daisuke's birthday party had been very fun, with everyone taking a chance to sing—even those like Daisuke himself and Taichi who were both tone-deaf and terribly off-key. Naturally, the highlight of the night had been when everyone was absolutely floored by a stunning duet from Mimi and Yamato, who easily had the best singing voices in the group, and left everyone wondering why they hadn't thought to let them sing together before now.<p>

But now it was late and time to go home. Takeru was walking Asako home, having split up from Taichi, Hikari, and Sora at the last corner. They talked about nothing important, but Asako fell silent as they reached her apartment door. As she was terrible at hiding her thoughts and feelings, Takeru had no trouble telling that something was on her mind. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She lowered her gaze to the ground. "I know I'm not the smartest person in the world and most of the time I'm a complete spaz, but I try to be nice to people and be as helpful as I can, and I know I'm really pretty and I'm a _girl_ and we can just tell these sort of things," she rambled quickly and Takeru believed that she had said all of that in one single breath. But he didn't understand what she was getting at. She took a deep breath and looked up at him as she said, "And I really, _really_ like you, Takeru."

Having an inkling now of what this might be about but unwilling to jump to conclusions, he could only reply, "I like you, too, Asako."

"But you don't love me," Asako countered with startling clarity.

"No," Takeru replied honestly, figuring that lying would probably get him nowhere at this point.

Asako nodded slowly—after all, he'd only just confirmed something she had clearly already been thinking. She started twirling a lock of hair around her finger—a tell tale sign of anxiety and nervousness from her—as she trapped her bottom lip beneath her teeth. She glanced to the side as she said quietly, "Do you think that…maybe, you know, _someday_…you could possibly…maybe…love me?"

Takeru gave it some serious thought for a moment before he sighed heavily and said, "I'm sorry."

But Asako just nodded slowly again. After a moment, she shrugged and sighed defeated. She, however, turned a smiled up at him after a few moments, though he could clearly see the tears brimming her eyes, and said, "Well, we had fun, right?"

"Yeah," Takeru said. Shifting slightly on his feet, he said furtively, "I really am sorry, Asako."

"I know," she said. She reached up and pulled his face down for the brief final kiss, and Takeru let her as he really did feel sad that this was happening—just not enough to stop it. As she pulled away, Asako said, "I still think you're a great guy, Takeru. Whatever girl ends up snagging you is going to be super lucky." Takeru didn't ruin the moment by telling her that there might very well not _be_ one at all; he just let her unlock her door in peace. "Good-bye, Takeru," she said as she turned the handle. But just as she had the door opened a crack, Asako looked back one last time and said, "Just to be clear, if anyone asks, I broke up with you, okay?" Then she slipped inside the apartment without waiting for his reply, leaving Takeru alone again.

Takeru began to make his way home, wondering why he did it. Why did he agree to date these girls if he didn't expect to ever love them? It wasn't strange, really, that something that had happened so very long ago still affected him now, but perhaps there was something inside him, some small hope, that it still _might_ happen one day and that was why he said yes.

He thought back to his earlier conversation with Miyako on the school roof—he'd literally been saved by the bell, having said far too much to the completely wrong person (Miyako was one of the most persistent people he knew, not to mention that telling her a secret was like shouting it from a rooftop). He remembered his last slip—his unfinished sentence at the end—and as he slowly came to a stop at a street corner, he looked up at the night sky, not so full of stars here in the middle of the city, and he whispered the finished thought, "If anything, she could have been my One."

But, then he kept on walking as, he knew, not anymore. Not ever.


	6. The Beach Episode, part 1

_24 July 2007_

"This is going to be great!"

After her exclamation, Mimi lifted her face, closed her eyes, and raised her hands to the sky as she let the sun's warming beams shine on her. She made a mental note to put on sun-block ASAP (a healthy tan was all well and good, but she hated the peeling after getting burnt—it was just so itchy and _gross_). Suddenly, a stray breeze came rolling along, causing Mimi to lower her hand to hold the top of her sunhat to her head. At any other time, she might have been slightly annoyed to almost lose her hat, but that had been an _ocean_ breeze meaning that her Beach Extravaganza had officially begun.

It had been difficult (actual _weeks_ worth of work) to convince not only her friends but also their parents that sending a bunch of teenagers alone on a three night trip to the beach was totally _not_ a bad idea. The key had been to get Sora and Jyou to agree to go first. Jyou was important to get first because once the parents heard that good old reliable Jyou was going, they were inclined to actually consider the whole thing. But it was Sora was the pinnacle—the very keystone—of the whole operation.

Sora not only helped ease the parents worries like Jyou, but once Mimi snagged Sora that meant that Taichi and Yamato were in the bag and, subsequently through them, their siblings and the rest of the gang. They were a strange assorted group—the type of people outsiders look at and wonder how so different of people ended up _talking_ to each other, let alone close friends—but it was undeniable that they were inseparable.

It all began when Mimi had been ten years old and had been sent reluctantly to summer camp (for the first and most certainly the _last_ time). The six of them (her, Jyou, Koushiro, Taichi, Yamato, and Sora) had all ended up in the same group together that first day—Takeru and Hikari had also been present at the camp, though, being younger, were not in their group. And, as in the summer camp tradition that you either end up best friends for life or wanting to murder each other, they luckily all became the former by week's end.

The real clincher to their close relationship had occurred on the second to last day when, led by Taichi (and accompanied by Takeru and Hikari at the time), they had all gotten lost in the woods together for over six hours (which is just simply an eternity to a small child). And, though he had mostly been the reason behind them getting lost in the first place, Taichi had really been the one to get them all through the ordeal. It wasn't said often, nor did it show all the time, but it was clear to all of them that it was truly Taichi who was the leader of their group and, in some way, the glue that kept them all together.

After that summer, the six of them made up the central core of their group of friends and started hanging out together because, though he had come before to some things on occasion, it wasn't really until after The Divorce that Takeru became part of the group. Mimi suspected that had mostly to do with Yamato's attempts to spend as much time as possible with the brother that he had been separated from. And wherever Takeru went, Hikari was sure to follow (and vice versa), bringing their core to the eight of them for a while. The next member of their group to be added was Daisuke, followed shortly by his best friend Ken. Other friends and partners had come and gone in their group, but Daisuke and Ken found their place in the core. It helped that Daisuke saw Taichi as his soccer idol and Ken found someone who could actually keep up an intelligent conversation with him in Koushiro. The final member to the core (though Mimi suspected that soon that boy, Iori, would become number twelve) had been Miyako, who had been brought in by Hikari and found a kindred spirit in Mimi. And Mimi had gotten all of them here with her for her final high school summer hoorah.

"Hey, Mimi! Are you going to help us with this or not? You know, seeing as _most_ of this is yours!"

Mimi looked back at where her friends were unloading the car and van she had rented for the trip. It had been Taichi who had yelled. Mimi had been so caught up in the excitement of the moment that she had jumped out of the car almost before it had completely stopped and raced to the beach. While she probably did have the most luggage out of the group, most of the rest of it was supplies and food for the house. Seeing as it was her family's beach house and she was the one who invited everyone, it only made sense that she would be the one to handle those things. And she had absolutely no trouble telling him that.

"Well, if you don't want to eat, Taichi, you could always just leave it in the car," she said as she walked back to them. "Besides, there's a reason they call it _man_ual labor. And are you actually suggesting that you need help from a girl?" she finished with just the right amount of pout to her lips (the self same one she had unleashed on Jyou to get him to agree to this trip).

Not quite quick enough to catch the trap she had laid (nor quite immune to her pout despite having been friends for almost a decade), Taichi took immediate offense to her insinuation against his manliness as he exclaimed, "Of course not!"

Mimi gave him her brightest smile as she said, "Then you won't mind if us girls head on in and get the house ready, right?" She grabbed Sora and pushed the girl a few steps in front of her before linking Hikari and Miyako's arms with her own and heading off to the house without giving him a chance to reply.

"Nice going, Taichi," they heard Yamato say.

"It's not my fault!"

"How is it _not_ your fault?"

The girls entered the house as Mimi unlocked the door and then closed it behind them, blocking out the boys' further argument, as they all collapsed into giggles. "That was nicely done," Hikari said between giggles while Sora and Miyako nodded their agreement.

"Thank you," Mimi said with an overly dramatic curtsy. "I've always found the best way to get a boy to do something is to get him to agree to it before he actually realizes he's agreeing. That combined with the Ultimate Pout of Doom, and they really have no chance, the poor boys."

This caused another bout of giggles as the girls moved further into the house. That is, until Hikari sneezed. They all looked at her as she rubbed the tip of her nose. "Sorry," she said, offering an apologetic smile. "I think it's all the dust in here."

Sora nodded in understanding. "We may have forced all the heavy lifting onto the guys, but there's still some work to be done here," she said as she placed her hands on her hips and looked around with a determined glint in her eyes.

"It's because we didn't rent it out this summer, so we didn't get it cleaned yet," Mimi explained. Then she smiled at all the girls, before she said, "Let's start by opening everything—windows and doors and stuff—to get some fresh air in here."

They split up, though that still didn't put them far apart from each other—the house was only one level with five rooms: two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and one large room that was a combination of the kitchen, dining room, and living room; her family had never needed much room, since, after all, who came to the beach to spend it _inside_? The beach, which was barely a few feet from the back door of the house, and the local town provided many places to hang out and things to do. With the boys carrying everything in, occasionally asking Mimi where things went, and the girls dusting out the rooms, the house was ready and they were finished and ready for fun in a relatively short amount of time.

Still, having spent most of the day traveling, it was still late afternoon by the time they got everything done. As everyone agreed that it would be better to wait to hit the beach until tomorrow (with only minimal protests from Daisuke and Miyako), Mimi dug into her closet and pulled out the card games and board games she and her parents used to amuse themselves during some of the free evenings they'd had on previous beach trips. This spawned exclamations of "Oh my gosh! I _love_ this game!" and "Do you remember this one?" and "No way! You have this?" from various members of the group.

Soon, the choices were narrowed down and all of them split up into two smaller groups—Taichi and Yamato had challenged their younger siblings to an epic game of Go Fish, which naturally attracted the attention and inclusion of Sora and Daisuke, while Koushiro, Jyou, Miyako, and Ken commandeered the coffee table for a giant puzzle and immediately began discussing strategies on the best way to go about doing it. Mimi, for her part, was content to sit back, watch, and serve as hostess for her friends. And to observe her ongoing pet projects. She fancied herself as the group's only working matchmaker and therefore saw it as her solemn duty to make sure each of her girlfriends ended up exactly with the person she wanted them to go out with.

Taichi and Sora were the easiest by far, seeing as they were already sort of in a relationship anyway. Currently, they'd been having this off-and-on back and forth thing between them for the last six months (and driving everyone else up the wall with it). Right now, the switch was in the "off" position with both parties firmly stating that that was where it was going to stay. But Mimi knew that a few well placed comments and nudges to each of them would have the fiery passion between them burning again.

Along the middle ground lay Ken and Miyako, but as they were just in their first year of high school, Mimi was in no hurry to get them together. She could definitively see the spark of attraction between them, but they were young and Mimi had plenty of time to blow that into a flame. They were so very different from each other, but they really did fit together rather well. While Miyako was there to bring the shy and timid Ken out of his shell, Ken was there to tone down the loud and boisterous Miyako. Mimi gave them a satisfied nod—yes, they would make a nice couple someday.

But the final pair in her sights had her completely and utterly baffled, as she looked with a frown at the Go Fish group—whose game had somehow morphed from an older versus younger challenge to an all out war between the Ishida brothers and the Yagami siblings (with poor Sora and Daisuke caught in the cross-fires), if it was even possible to have sides or teams when it came to Go Fish. It was her greatest project—the ultimate challenge, one she had failed at more times than she cared to remember—but she was determined to see Takeru and Hikari together someday.

They confused her more than anything, how they refused to see each other in a romantic light. Sometimes—just sometimes and those were few and far between—she thought she saw one of them looking at the other with a deeper gaze that she thought might have some meaning to it, but never had _anything_ come from it. In fact, they were getting less and less frequent, so much so that, now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen it happen since the school year began, if not longer. They were so well suited for each other and complimented each other just so much—but not in the same way as Miyako and Ken did because they weren't really opposites of each other.

The two of them were really rather similar—both genuinely nice, cheerful, and recklessly helpful. But while Takeru was happily optimistic most of the time, Mimi had seen—rarely—that there was a rage in him that surfaced on certain occasions (usually in regards to an injustice of some kind or a threat to those close to him). And though Hikari was incessantly gentle to mostly everyone that she met, within her sometimes Mimi could see the crushing guilt of the world's weight that she brought upon herself to carry. That was where what they did for each other what few others could stepped in—namely, Takeru brought Hikari back up and Hikari brought Takeru back down. Yet, they were not together, and Mimi _did not get it_!

But then, Mimi let a smile touch her lips. Wasn't the beach a perfect place to change all that?

* * *

><p>Sora ended up the champion. Koushiro really admired her strategy. The siblings had been so busy battling it out with each other that they didn't notice her quietly accumulating matches for herself. In fact, it hadn't been until Taichi jumped up to declare himself the incontestable winner that Sora pleasantly, but rather firmly, informed him that she actually had the most matches. The shock and disbelief on Taichi's face at her pronouncement had been absolutely priceless, and his final heavy dejection had given them a good laugh, first and foremost from the Ishida brothers.<p>

The rest of the evening flowed quickly after that since everyone else decided to be "helpful" by assisting Miyako, Jyou, Ken, and him in finishing the puzzle. So, naturally, it took them three times longer to finish it then it would have before the others decided to help. Therefore, it was well past sunset (whereupon Mimi had enforced a brief break to shuffle them all outside to see) before they actually finished. Though it was getting late, no one seemed all that eager to go to sleep—himself included, even though he had basically only agreed to go on this trip sans his computer only to get Mimi to _stop talking_ to him about it.

"Hey!" Taichi suddenly said as he started glancing erratically around the room. "Where's Hikari?"

To which he got four separate answers at the same time.

Sora rolled her eyes and said, "You're just _now_ noticing she's gone?"

Yamato took his own quick glance around the room before he sighed and said, "Probably with my brother."

Ken quietly remarked, "She never came inside."

But it was Mimi's answer that grabbed all of their attention. The girl, who had a happy, and yet somewhat mischievous, smile on her face, was staring out the window that faced the ocean. In a content and dreamy tone of voice she said, "She's down on the beach holding hands with Takeru."

There was an actual beat of silence in the rom. Finally, it was Sora (with an exasperated sigh) who said, "Oh, Mimi, you can't honestly think that means anything."

Mimi placed her hands on her hips as she turned to face her friend. "Well, why not? There can't be a more romantic setting then the beach, don't you think?"

"Sure, but I really don't think that's going to get the two of them together at this point," Sora pointed out.

"Wanna bet?" Mimi asked suddenly with a somewhat feral glint in her eyes. Koushiro frowned and leaned back against his seat, as his mind begin to turn.

Sora blinked a few times before asking with an skeptical tone, "What?"

"Come on," Mimi said excitedly as she bounded away from the window to rejoin the group, who were all still mostly sitting sporadically around the coffee table with the completed puzzle on top of it. "It'll be fun! We can all do it," she said as she swept her arm around.

"Do what exactly?" Miyako asked.

"Why, bet how long it'll take for those tow to get together, of course," Mimi said as if she couldn't have been talking about anything else. Everyone stared at her incredulously. "What?" she asked blankly after a moment.

"Um…Mimi?" Sora said in her gentle, tactful tone.

But Mimi rolled her eyes and started to speak before she could say much more beyond that. "Oh, please. It's not like we don't all think it's going to happen, just like we all knew that Sora and Taichi were going to hook up," she finished as she looked at the couple.

"We are not together!" Taichi and Sora exclaimed loudly at the same time.

"Yes, you are," Mimi said with a nod. Then she cocked her head to the side and added, "Or you will be as soon as Taichi apologizes for whatever he did this time."

"Why is it always my fault?" Taichi asked defensively.

"Dude, she's got a point," Yamato put in. Taichi glared at his best friend and then grumbled incoherently.

Mimi nodded. "And, seriously guys, I was just joking," she said with a small giggle.

"I find the prospect intriguing," Koushiro said as he felt a grin on his lips. He'd never been that much interested in his friends' love lives to be perfectly honest, but he couldn't help but think of this as a puzzle to be figured out. It was clear that no one else thought he would be the first to speak up either.

"You do?" Mimi asked quietly in disbelief.

Koushiro nodded. "Indeed," he said. He didn't miss the sudden, almost panicked look that passed between Taichi and Yamato at that moment. He puzzled at it for a bare moment before he pushed it out of his mind as an instinctive reaction as older brothers.

"I think it sounds like fun, too," Miyako piped up with a wide toothy grin of her own. "I mean, it's all in good fun, right?" She looked at Ken as she said this, and the quiet boy gave her a sort of lopsided smile in response. Miyako apparently took this as an affirmative as her smile got even wider.

Sora frowned, and as the constant voice of reason, of course said, "I don't know, guys. I mean, should we really be doing something like this?"

Mimi nudged her friend softly with her elbow with a coy, and yet innocent, look in her eyes. "It'll be fine," she said almost flippantly. "It's like we're cheering them on!"

"I guess," Sora said slowly, not exactly sounding wholly convinced. Koushiro noted that Taichi and Yamato had now not-so-subtly moved closer together. They had their heads bowed close to each other and were whispering at each other quickly and quietly enough that he couldn't hear what they were saying. Neither one looked very pleased.

Jyou, in that nervous habit that he'd never quite been able to break, took his glasses off and started to clean them with a cloth he pulled out of his pocket. He started to say something but they would never know what it was as he was quite cut off by the sudden arrival of Mimi right in front of him—Koushiro had barely seen her move. She pouted out her lower lip, made her eyes go wide, and said, "Please, Jyou?"

So, it was really no wonder that the man caved in right then and there as his face flushed red. Nervously shoving his glasses back onto his nose, he turned his gaze away as he said, "Oh, all right, fine."

Literally bouncing in excitement, the girl turned to the older brothers (still holding their own private conversation with each other), and said, "What about you guys? Yamato? Taichi?"

Starting at the exact same moment, the boys jumped slightly as they turned back to the group. Frowns now lined some of the others faces who hadn't noticed them talking fervently to each other, and the boys found themselves on the receiving end of seven curious looks. "Well…" Taichi started to say before he looked back at Yamato with a question in his eyes. Yamato, for his part, just raised his eyebrows and nodded out to the others in the room. Taichi gave a sigh and glanced at the ceiling as he rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "We don't care…I mean, we _do_ care, but…ugh…" Taichi fumbled through what he was trying to say, which caused Koushiro to narrow his eyes at him in calculation. The bushy-haired man took a deep breath before he continued, "What I'm _trying_ to say is that we don't mind if you guys make a bet or whatever, but we're just not going to…er…"

"Participate," Yamato supplied suddenly. "Go ahead, but we're not going to be a part of it."

"Why?" Sora asked.

Taichi and Yamato exchanged a glance again before Taichi said, "Because of…lots of reasons." He said the last part of that sentence almost like it was a question. He quickly added, "Seriously, though, we don't mind. Those two need all the help they can get."

"Taichi," Yamato said sharply as he suddenly whacked the other man in the back of the head.

"Ow!" Taichi exclaimed as he rubbed where his friend had hit him. "What'd you do that for? You know that as well as I do."

"But you didn't have to _say_ it," Yamato hissed. "We…" he said, but he stopped and made some wild gestures with his hands.

"Yeah, I know," Taichi said softly but definitely.

The brothers fell silent, and the whole room remained so for nearly half a minute after they stopped speaking. "Wow," Sora said. "You guys take foreign language to a whole new level."

Yamato rolled his eyes, but Taichi gave a chuckle and a grin as he said, "Yeah, whatever. Have fun. We'll go make sure you have time to get it all done." Then he grabbed Yamato by the arm and half-dragged him out of the house.

Everyone stared silently again for a few moments before Mimi said slowly, "So…let's make it simple. Everyone puts in five hundred yen and whoever is closest at the end wins everything." She stopped for a moment to smile at the group before she asked, "Agreed?"


	7. The Beach Episode, part 2

_25 July 2007_

"There, done!" Mini stated as Hikari heard the final snap of the hair tie. Once Mimi stepped away, Hikari turned to look in the mirror to see Mimi's handiwork with her hair. The other girl had put Hikari's brown hair up into two buns just at the nape of her neck. Mimi had taken it upon herself that morning to do all four girls' hair before they headed off down to the beach and Hikari had been the last one to be done. Sora's hair was simplest—just pulled back from her face with clips as she planned on wearing a hat after all. Miyako's started out as two French braids on the top of her head that combined into one singular braid down her back, while Mimi's own hair was pulled back into a ponytail with stylish wisps hanging around her face.

"Thanks, Mimi!" Hikari said as she beamed at the older girl.

Mimi waved off her thanks but there was still a delighted smile on her lips as she did so. As they headed out of the bathroom, Mimi glanced out the window and said in a somewhat dubious tone, "Well, those boys _should_ have everything set up by now. That is, if Taichi and Daisuke didn't manage to convince the rest of them to slack off." As she spoke, she grabbed her white semi-sheer sarong and tied it around her waist over the bottom of her hot pink bikini. The boys had headed down to the beach earlier that morning—they had seen no need to get ready beyond putting on their swim trunks. As such, Mimi had given them all the beach gear and told them to get it all set up before they left.

"Oh, come on," Hikari said. She dug into her bag for her brown flip-flops and for her cream colored cover-up. "My brother's not that bad." Grinning, as she finally located the items she was searching for, she stood up and slid her arms into her cover-up, wearing it over her mint green tankini with ruffles on the front of the top (which was short enough to show off a good portion of her midriff) before balancing on one foot after another to put her shoes on.

"It depends on his mood really," Sora said with a sort of teasing glint in her eye as she glanced back at Hikari for just a moment before looking at the mirror she had been studying again. She was just setting on her tan sunhat that went really well with her solid baby blue one-piece. When they had all gone out together shopping for new swimsuits for the trip, Hikari had watched with amusement as Mimi had tried to talk the older girl into a bikini or at least a tankini like her and Miyako. Sora, however, had adamantly refused, though she had conceded to the dipping backline on the one-piece.

While Hikari hadn't _really_ cared what Sora wore (it was really her choice after all), she had been curious as to why Sora had been so obstinate about the whole thing. When she asked Sora why the older girl had been so dead-set against it, Sora had only given Hikari a sort of almost feral grin as she said, "Punishment." Hikari had wisely left it at that (and refused to comment when Taichi "casually" asked what Sora's new suit looked liked). She had (as had most of their group—except for poor Mimi and Yamato, who as the best friends of the two, sometimes really had no choice in the matter) long ago learned to stay out of her brother's and Sora's complicated relationship.

But then, Sora paused with a pensive look on her face before adding, "Or it depends on Yamato's mood."

Hikari had to laugh at that. "That's true enough," she said as the girls started to head for the door.

Miyako, dressed in a white tankini that had a skirt on the bottom and large purple flowers all over it, was half-way out the door when she paused, her hand resting on the door frame. She turned back to the three other girls behind her and said, "You know, the responsible ones out there far outweigh those two."

"And yet somehow, that never quite seems to matter," Mimi said, inciting laughs from all the girls this time. But as the girls reached the beach, they found that the boys had not failed them. The large rainbow-colored beach umbrella was set up with the blanket spread out underneath it. A blue cooler rested under the shade next to the umbrella pole, hopefully full of the water bottles Mimi had asked them to put into it.

Jyou was still underneath the umbrella, rummaging through the first aid bag he brought with him nearly everywhere that he went. Ever since getting lost at camp, Jyou had taken it upon himself to be certified in as many forms of first aid that he possibly could. That, coupled with the fact that his father _was_ a doctor himself, if ever anyone got hurt, Jyou was always the first choice to go to when their group was out anywhere. Hikari surmised that he was probably checking to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

Koushiro was also under the umbrella, using a portable battery-powered air pump to blow up a large beach ball. Hikari had to wonder whether he drew the short stick, the other boys coerced him into it, or if the redhead was just desperate to be around technology of any kind since Mimi had forced him to come without his trusted computer that usually never left his side. The other five boys were either near or actually in the ocean—Taichi and Daisuke were already in a water war, while Takeru, Yamato, and Ken watched at a safe distance. Hikari let a small smile lit on her lips as she watched their antics herself for just a moment.

As the girls reached the umbrella, Mimi bent down and grabbed the large bottle of sunscreen from where it was sitting almost haphazardly on the blanket. Hikari watched as some thought went through her mind as she looked at the bottle and then, for some reason, up at Jyou (who was still looking through his bag and Hikari could see his lips moving slightly as he did so). Apparently coming to some decision, she placed her hand on Jyou's shoulder, causing him to jump slightly before he turned to look at her. Mimi had on her sweetest smile as she said, "Hey, Jyou. Can you help me put this on my back?"

Jyou blinked, looking somewhat taken aback for a moment, before he said, "S-sure." Mimi smiled her thanks and sat down in front of him, pulling her ponytail over one shoulder. As he poured some sunscreen on his hands, his eyes became serious as he looked at the rest of them and instructed, "Make sure you three put some on as well. I already had the other guys get some."

"Yeah, we know," Miyako said as she took the bottle from Jyou's hand. She put some on her own hands and began rubbing it into her arms.

"Looks like you ladies could use some extra hands."

Hikari turned around and found herself staring at two boys who were the absolute epitome of surfer boy clichés—sun bleached hair, toned bodies with golden skin, and charming smiles. Though the beach was, technically, owned by the people who lived along the shores (or who had vacation homes like Mimi's parents), Mimi had explained that there was sort of an unspoken rule that some of the local people who lived really close by could use the beaches as well. This meant that the beaches weren't full of crowds, but they weren't empty either. Hikari could see a fair amount of people milling about, whether on the shore or in the water.

Hikari, unsure of what to say to these two boys, who were probably some of the locals that Mimi had talked about, pursed her lips in thought, but was saved from having to say anything when Miyako scoffed at them as she said, "As if."

"I have a boyfriend," Sora added quickly to which Mimi gave out a snort of suppressed laughter. Sora merely turned to give the younger girl a glare in reply, as if daring her to say anything.

"So, buzz off, birdbrains," Miyako finished before she turned toward the ocean and yelled, "Hey, Ken! Come over here and help me with this!"

Apparently not ones to give up so easily, the two boys trained their eyes on Hikari, who as of yet still hadn't said anything. In all honesty, she had been hoping that what the other two girls would have been enough, but she had no such luck as one of the boys said, "How about you, pretty girl?"

So, Hikari, who for the most part couldn't ever seem to find it in herself to not be polite to anyone, simply gave the boys a small smile as she said, "No, thank you."

"Come on. What could it hurt?"

"Trust me, guys. You should just go," Koushiro spoke up unexpectedly from behind her. Hikari turned briefly to find he was standing now, the filled beach ball in his arms. He wasn't exactly glaring at the two boys, but there was a strange almost resigned, _pitied_ look in his eyes.

The boys narrowed their eyes at him. "You her boyfriend?"

"No," Hikari said quickly. "It's just that I have—"

An arm draped protectively over her shoulder—cutting her off in surprise. "What's up, my darling little sister," Taichi said casually at her side. It seemed like was talking to her and there was a grin on his lips, but he was glaring at the two boys as if he wanted to set fire to them with his eyes. Quite suddenly, there was a wall of men between those boys and the girls, as Takeru, Yamato, Daisuke, and Ken arrived at the blanket as well. Clearly, Miyako's shout-out to Ken had not only attracted the attention of the shy boy, but the rest of the boys as well.

Takeru slid the back of two fingers briefly on her arm, gaining her attention. When she looked up at him, he raised his eyebrows in a silent question—one that she immediately understood. She gave him a bright smile in response, reassuring him that she was just fine. Yamato looked at the two boys as if he had just now noticed them and asked coolly, "Do you boys need something?"

The two boys exchanged a nervous glance before one stuttered, "N-no."

So, Daisuke with all his inability to be subtle about anything, punched one fist into his opposite palm before saying, "Great. So get out of here before we start knocking heads together."

Needless to say, the two boys did not stay long after that.

There was a quiet pause for just a moment. Hikari broke it by saying, "Taichi, you're getting me wet." Having just been in the ocean before coming to their "rescue" (as Hikari was uncertain that they had actually been in any need for a rescue at all), Taichi was still soaking wet.

"Sorry," Taichi said as he quickly stepped slightly away. But then, his eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "Hikari, what are you wearing?" he demanded suddenly.

She looked down at herself before raising her gaze back to her brother, confused. "A swimsuit," she said, her tone readily displaying the inquisitive nature of the statement.

"You're not old enough to wear something that, you know, shows all that!" Taichi said, gesturing wildly with his hands. Hikari couldn't immediately tell who they were from, but there were some choked snorts from around the group.

With long-suffering patience and an attitude used to dealing with her brother when he went into full-on protective mode, she gently reminded him, "I'm sixteen."

"Not in my book, you're not!"

Takeru, who had not left her side yet, laughed quietly before whispering to her, "I think in his book, you are forever five years old." Hikari giggled softly at that.

"I heard that!" Taichi said, glaring at Takeru.

"Oh, get over it Taichi," Yamato said, clapping him on the shoulder with a grin. "Besides, I don't see you saying anything about Mimi's bikini."

"That's completely different. Mimi's not my sister."

"Thanks, Taichi. Glad to know you're so concerned for me," Mimi said with a heavy dosage of sarcasm in her tone.

"That's not what I meant," Taichi barked out.

"Taichi, shut up and come put sunscreen on my back," Sora interrupted abruptly. To which Mimi snorted again. This time, however, instead of just glaring at her friend, Sora added, "Mimi, I swear if you don't stop that, I will throw you into the ocean."

Mimi's jaw dropped. "You wouldn't _dare_!" she said actually sounding outraged at the idea.

"What's so bad about that?" Daisuke suddenly asked. "Isn't swimming sort of the point here?"

"Silly boy, people don't go the beach to _swim_," Mimi said in a patronizing tone.

"They don't?" most of the group asked at the same time, including Hikari herself.

Mimi just sighed as she murmured, "Never mind." She picked up the now once again discarded sunscreen and handed it over to Hikari and said, "You're the only one left, so why don't you ask—"

"Do you want me to help you with that, Hikari?" Daisuke interrupted out of the blue.

Surprised only momentarily, Hikari handed over the bottle as she said, "Sure."

"Daisuke!" Mimi cried out sounding scandalized.

"All's fair, you know," Daisuke said with a triumphant grin before he moved behind her and began rubbing the sunscreen on her back and shoulders.

"What in the world are you talking about" Takeru asked, looking just about as confused as Hikari felt.

"Nothing," both of them said at the same time. In an overly innocent tone that Hikari could tell Takeru didn't believe either.

However, before she could ask for clarification and for reasons Hikari couldn't even begin to guess, Taichi and Yamato exchanged a glance and then just burst into wild laughter. "Subtle, guys. Very subtle," Yamato commented between gasps of breath.

Hikari raised her eyebrows in question to her best friend to which Takeru only shrugged in response. He didn't have any more idea what was going on than she did. Hikari, quite sure that she probably didn't want to know what they were talking about, was glad when Koushiro said, "The beach ball has been prepared. Who is ready to commence playing?"

What followed after that was a game that resembled beach volleyball basically in name only and the fact that two teams hit the ball back and forth. They had no net, so there was just a line drawn in the sand (that had to be redrawn a lot because it kept being ruined). And since they hadn't bothered to draw any other lines, both sides became a wide range of where the ball could go. No rules were set on how anyone could hit the ball, so anyway you could get the ball over the line was accepted, including kicking, much to the delight of Taichi and Daisuke (perhaps secretly to Ken and Sora as well, though they didn't show it). Finally, no one was bothering to keep score because people kept switching sides at the drop of a hat—though Taichi did say that any team he was on was the winning team.

Periodically, someone would return to the umbrella and blanket for some water (which was what mostly contributed to anyone changing sides as they returned to the game). Some time into the "beach volleyball" game Hikari excused herself and raced off towards the blanket. She popped open the cooler and dug into the ice for a new bottle of water, since she had already finished her last one. Sitting down to rest for a moment, she stared out into the ocean as she gulped down the cold water.

A few minutes later, Sora, Jyou, and Koushiro stepped out from the game as well and joined her on the blanket. Hikari smiled as she stood up, setting aside her half-drunken bottle. As she slipped off her cover-up (having already long ago forgone her flip-flops) she said to them, "I'm going to swim for a while to cool off."

Sora and Koushiro just merely nodded, while Jyou added the words, "Be careful!"

"I will," she said over her shoulder, already on her way to the water. She stood ankle deep in the ocean, allowing the waves to wash over her for just a few minutes. Slowly, she took further steps out, until she could slip down into the water. She dipped her head below the surface, slicing through the water further out from the shore. A couple of times, she went up for breath but soon went back under once more. Finally, she straightened as she surfaced one last time, her arms and legs treading water as she looked around.

She was a little alarmed to find herself farther from the shore than she had meant to go. She ducked below the surface, sinking down in an attempt to find the ground below but was unsuccessful before she had to pull herself back up for air. Though not panicked because she was still a fair swimmer, she still figured she ought to head back, so Hikari began pulling herself through the water and back toward the shore.

Quite suddenly, a pain spiked through her thigh, causing her to literally be unable to move. She cried out and gripped her thigh but realized her mistake almost immediately as her head ducked underneath the water. She pulled herself back up, coughing out the water she'd swallowed before gasping for air. But it was a brief respite before the pain overcame her again, and she slipped beneath the waves once more. Flailing her arms, she got out of the water again long enough to call out, "T—" before the pain spiked again, and she submerged back down.

She lifted her face up to the surface, squinting her eyes open long enough to see the sun glistening through the water. Spots started to dance across her vision as the lack of air folded around her mind. None of her thoughts could fully form through the intense pain still attacking her mind from her thigh.

Each second felt like an excruciating hour as slowly—though time seemed somewhat irrelevant—her eyes slid shut. Almost peacefully, the last of her breath slipped through her lips as her mind began to shut down. For a moment, she thought she felt familiar arms surround her and pull her up—she even had the brief thought that of course he came for her—but she fell into unconsciousness before it could even process, sinking even closer to Death's waiting arms.


	8. The Beach Episode, part 3

_25 July 2007_

Sora was surprised, later when it was all over, how most of them had acted so calmly during the entire ordeal. She supposed that she shouldn't have been—they'd all been fairly calm (all things considered) when they'd all gotten lost in the woods nearly a decade before. There had been, of course, a few mild panic attacks from various members of the group (and at one point she thought that Taichi and Yamato would decide to become arch-enemies again), but they'd come out of the whole ordeal all right.

This time, she hadn't even realized anything was wrong until Takeru was already in the water and swimming away from the beach with what must have been every ounce of his strength. A moment before that, he had been a blur in her peripheral vision, running towards the ocean at breakneck speed. It was that that caused her mild alarm in the first place. Blessed with ample amount of glowing optimism, it took quite a bit to cause Takeru any sort of distress in most normal situations.

"Oi, Takeru! Where are you going?"

Because she heard Daisuke's yell and saw Takeru's ignoring of it, Sora's brows furrowed together as she stared after Takeru. That was how she saw Hikari's head bob out of the water before sinking below again. Sora gasped and rose slowly to her feet, saying, "Oh my…Hikari!"

That, of course, was all that was needed to gain Taichi's attention.

Instantly, the game was over and the beach ball abandoned as the whole group moved almost as one towards the ocean. Sora hovered for a moment as she watched Jyou grab his first aid bag to make sure that there wasn't anything he needed help with first. He reached into a front pocket of the bag and pulled out a phone. He stuffed it into Koushiro's hand with a single instruction as he said, "Call an ambulance." Then he started to follow the everyone else and Sora hurried after him.

By the time they reached the shoreline, Takeru already had Hikari and was swimming back to them. Taichi and Yamato had forged right into the water up to their waists. It was only a few moments later that Takeru could stand and pull Hikari into his arms to walk the rest of the way to the beach. When he was close enough, Taichi and Yamato took the frighteningly still Hikari from Takeru's arms. The younger boy was breathing heavily, water dripping from his hair down his face and neck. "Lay her down here," Jyou instructed to the two older brothers when they were close enough, waving to the space in front of him as he kneeled on the ground himself. Taichi and Yamato put her down on the sand immediately. Taichi's face was pale and set as he did not take his eyes off his sister, and Yamato was constantly glancing nervously at his friend.

Mimi was there almost instantly at Takeru's side as he left the water and handed him a towel. Takeru barely wiped the water from his face before he carelessly let the towel fall from his hands. He kneeled on Hikari's other side immediately. "She's not breathing," he said to Jyou, sounding breathless, but Sora didn't know if that was because of what he had just done or because of Hikari. She thought it was probably both.

Jyou nodded calmly—a far cry from the twelve year old boy who used to freak out at every noisy insect in the forest. Sora knew all of them had been blessed with strengths that seemed to only grow stronger as they grew older—such as Takeru's optimism, Sora's own compassion, and Taichi's thick-headed recklessness that he liked to call courage—and, luckily for them, Jyou had a great sense of practicality and realism. As he tilted Hikari's head back, he locked his gaze Takeru and seemed to search him for the barest of seconds. Sora didn't know what he saw there but then he said seriously, "I'm going to need help. Can you do this?"

Takeru's eyes went just the tiniest bit wider for the barest of moments before Sora watched the transformation of his face set itself into resolution. "Yes," Takeru said firmly.

"Then breath into her when I tell you," Jyou instructed. Takeru only nodded his response this time, but Jyou probably didn't even see as he already had his hands placed on Hikari's chest ready to begin CPR. "Now," he said succinctly.

As Takeru bent to breathe into Hikari's still lips before Jyou pumped his hands into her chest, Sora moved toward Taichi, who stood above his sister, staring down at her with a pale face and wide eyes. Yamato had one hand on his friend's shoulder in support, looking nearly as worried. Sora snaked her arm around Taichi's and intertwined their fingers together. Other than to squeeze her hand tightly, he gave no other indication that he knew she was there at all. She leaned into him and whispered, "Stop freaking out. She's going to be fine. Jyou knows what he's doing."

A terse nod was the only reply that she got, as Takeru and Jyou kept alternating what they were doing, trying to bring the girl back to life. Finally, the whole group breathed an audible sigh of relief as Hikari began to cough. Jyou moved her head so that it was sideways as she did so. As she opened her eyes, breathing almost normally once more, her gaze immediately found Takeru. A small smile lit on her face as she reached up a hand to his cheek, whispering what sounded like, "I knew it."

"Hikari," Taichi said and his tone was almost reverent as he slipped out of Sora and Yamato's grasps and moved toward his sister. As he took those couple steps, Takeru moved aside, stepping up and away from her as her brother moved in. Taichi cupped her face with both of his hands. Sora couldn't see his face standing behind him, but she could imagine exactly the combination of relief and guilt on it.

"I'm okay, Taichi," Hikari reassured her brother, reaching up one hand towards her cheek place it over his own. "I'm okay."

"Don't move her just yet," Jyou instructed briefly as he stood up. He held a quick quiet conversation with Koushiro, and then announced that the ambulance was on its way.

"Is that still necessary?" Taichi asked—it was easy to hear the alarm in his voice.

"Taichi, I may be certified in a lot of first aid, but I'm still not a doctor," Jyou reminded him gently. "I just want to be safe."

Taichi nodded in understanding, but Sora couldn't help but notice the mild annoyance and guilt that flashed across Hikari's face at that. Sora walked over to stand behind Taichi, so that she was near him again in case either of them needed her support. Curiously, she looked at Takeru again, who had bent down to pick up the towel and was belatedly thanking Mimi for bringing it to him. "How did you know?" she asked curiously.

Takeru looked startled for a moment as he looked over at Sora. "What?" he asked.

"How did you know Hikari was in danger?" Sora clarified her question.

He looked almost puzzled at the question and for a moment Sora thought he was going to say something along the lines that "he just knew" (which Mimi would, of course, have a heyday with) but instead, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, he answered, "I was watching her."

"Really?" Mimi suddenly asked in a tone of voice that made Sora think she might have a heyday with this answer anyway.

Still looking slightly confused, as if he didn't know why they were asking him this, he said, "Yeah. I wanted to make sure she was okay since she was going to be swimming by herself. In fact, I was about to go out and join her anyway." Suddenly quite serious, he looked down at Hikari and said, "You know, you really shouldn't have done that. Gone out alone."

Hikari's face crumpled into a look of guilt. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Takeru's eyes widened with an emotion that Sora couldn't quite recognize because it was there so briefly before he returned his expression to his familiar smile. "Hikari, don't—"

But what else he might have said was lost as the paramedics arrived, pushing everyone back away from Hikari as they swooped in to do their work.

* * *

><p>"Really, you guys don't have to stay with me," Hikari said to them again.<p>

Taichi, who understood his sister so well, placed his hand on top of her head. "Don't worry about it, sis," he said. "We really don't mind being with you." Hikari nodded as she turned her gaze away from him. He knew she didn't like being a burden to anyone, but somehow he could never quite get her to see that he didn't feel that way. He doubted any one of their friends did.

"I had to come in and get lunch ready anyway," Mimi added from the kitchen. Her voice was slightly muffled as he head was half-buried in a cupboard.

Taichi pushed a stray hair off Hikari's forehead. "Do you need anything?" he asked.

Hikari shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she quickly assured him.

"I'm going to get you something to drink," Taichi's stated. When Hikari opened her mouth—no doubt to protest—Taichi held up a finger and said, "Doctor's orders." Hikari nodded, but he could tell that it was reluctantly. Taichi tucked the blanket closer around her before he stood up and walked into the kitchen.

The paramedics had arrived shortly after Jyou and Takeru brought Hikari back to life. He couldn't believe that he had come so close to losing her again, just like when she had almost died of pneumonia when she was young. Jyou had been the one to answer most of their questions after making sure to show them his certifications for first aid. Luckily for everyone, a trip to the hospital was not deemed necessary, but Hikari had been ordered to rest for the next few days. Since no one wanted to leave Hikari alone, it was decided that they would all take turns staying inside with her whenever the group went out—whether to the beach or otherwise. Taichi and Mimi had volunteered to go first, while everyone headed back to the beach for a short time before lunch.

Taichi found Mimi setting up a sort of buffet with trays and bowls full of food. As he opened the refrigerator, he asked, "You got all this made just now?"

Mimi laughed. "No," she admitted. "Most of this is cold stuff I made before we left so that we could just store it in the fridge for when we needed it. The only thing I made today was the rice."

Taichi nodded as he pulled two soda bottles out of the fridge and went to hand one to Hikari. She took it with a quiet, "Thank you." She took a small sip before replacing the lid and set it on the coffee table. Smiling, Taichi sat down beside her, right in front of her waist. Opening his own bottle, he took a long drink from it.

"I'm going to get the others," Mimi said brightly as she moved around the kitchen cupboard and started out the door. Suddenly, she stopped and came back to them, resting her elbows on the back of the couch to lean over it. "You know, Hikari," she began to say. And while her face was the picture of innocent curiosity, there was a mischievous look in her eyes that made Taichi narrow his gaze at her suspiciously. "It was Takeru who helped Jyou give you CPR," she continued.

Hikari looked puzzled at what Mimi was trying to get out, but Taichi had a feeling that he knew. "Yes," she said in a questioning tone.

Mimi grinned widely as she said, "So, you know, it's kind of like he kissed you."

Hikari just laughed. "Come on, Mimi. He was saving my life," she said merrily. Taichi found half a grin perking up the side of his lips—he'd been right and he guessed what Hikari's response would be as well. He took a drink of his soda just as Hikari added in a murmur, "Besides, it's not like it was the first time."

Taichi nearly choked on his drink as his eyes widened in surprise—had Hikari really just _said _that? It was apparent that Mimi wasn't about to let that slide as she said incredulously, "Excuse me? What?"

"I meant that it wasn't my first kiss is all," Hikari clarified quickly.

"Oh," Mimi said, not even bothering to hide her disappointment. Suddenly, she pierced Taichi was a sudden fierce gaze. "And don't think I didn't see you and Sora out there. Seriously, just kiss and make up already. You're driving the rest of us crazy."

Taichi waved her off as he said, "Yeah, yeah." As Mimi straightened, she muttered something that sounded like it had the words "stubborn" and "pig-headed" in it. "What was that?" Taichi asked.

"Nothing," Mimi replied sweetly as she skipped out the door.

The two siblings sat in silence for a little bit until Hikari groaned as she covered her face with her hands. "I can't believe I said that," she said quietly.

"Me neither," Taichi muttered.

Hikari slowly lowered her hands and there was a furrow between her brows. She tilted her head to the side, and that was the moment that Taichi realized that neither one of them had probably meant to say either of those things out loud (he knew that he hadn't, at least). Taichi knew that he was going to have to admit to something then, but there were interrupted from any further conversation by the loud arrival of the rest of the group, most of them in the midst of their own conversations. As Takeru and Miyako came to ask Hikari how she was doing, Taichi took the opportunity to escape and stood up to go join the conversation between Sora and Yamato.

He hoped that she never knew that he knew.

* * *

><p><em>26 July 2007<em>

"I can do it on my own, Taichi!"

Miyako didn't bother to hold back a laugh as she watched the Yagami siblings in amusement. "Not a chance, sis," Taichi said with a grin that made her think that he was having way too much fun hovering over Hikari like he had been for the past day and a half since the whole drowning incident. Taichi, at the moment, was gathering up his little sister in his arms from the couch she had been sequestered on since yesterday, for their group's trip final trip down to the beach.

On the last night of the trip, Mimi surprised everyone by producing a massive box of sparklers. "It wouldn't be a beach trip without them," she had said. "My mom and dad and I have them every time we come up here." So once it was dark enough, she enlisted Daisuke and Takeru to haul a giant bucket of water down to the beach so that they would have somewhere to place the dead sparklers when they were finished. The rest of them were to carry down a legion of lawn chairs, except Taichi, who had "volunteered" to carry Hikari down, despite the fact that no problems had cropped up with her and her protesting that she was fine to walk on her own.

It was a cloudless night and the moon and stars were bright enough that they could, at least, see what they were doing without stumbling about too much. Miyako set up her chair next to the one Taichi had set Hikari into. Once Hikari had been settled, he had gone off to join the men in lighting up the sparklers. Miyako observed them for a moment before she plopped down onto her chair. Leaning over the arm towards Hikari, she nodded over to where the guys were standing and mocked whispered to her friend, "What are the odds of someone catching on fire tonight?"

Hikari seemed to seriously consider the issue as she studied the group and said with a wave of her hand, "I don't know…seventy-five percent?"

"More like ninety-nine point nine," Sora added as she rolled her eyes. She and Mimi were standing next to the other two girls, all four of them having silently agreed to leave the men with whatever honor or pride they wanted to have lighting up the sparklers themselves. "I give them the point one due to Koushiro, Jyou, and Ken," she added with a cheeky grin and a wink.

Suddenly, there came the unmistakable voice of Yamato in his my-best-friend-is-an-idiot tone. "Taichi, you're doing it wrong."

"How could I possibly be doing it wrong?" Taichi shot back fiercely. "Fire. Sparkler. Put them together and bam!"

"Well, that doesn't seem to be working and you've waster like a billion matches trying," Yamato said condescendingly.

"I've only used two!"

"Whatever."

"Guys, is this really worth arguing over?" Jyou interrupted sensibly to which he only received a glare from both parties in response.

"Maybe I should give it a try," Daisuke added, sounding reasonably but Miyako recognized that hopeful look—seriously, what is _with_ guys and fire?

"No," Taichi and Yamato said at the same time.

A heavy sigh came from Sora as she said, "I swear those two will revert to first grade at the drop of a hat."

"Oh, for the love of…" Mimi muttered as she stormed over to the group of guys. She plucked the matches and sparkler from Taichi's fingers. She thrust the sparkler into the next nearest person's hands—Ken—and said, "Hold this." She fished a match out of the box and lit it up. Taking the sparkler back from Ken, she put the match to it and it came to life with a hiss and a flash a moment later. Seemingly oblivious to the shocked and/or amused faces of those around her, Mimi blew out the match and tossed it into the bucket full of water before she said, "Well, get another one before this one goes out."

All of which left Miyako, Sora, and Hikari howling with laughter.

A few minutes later, everyone had their hands on at least one sparkler. Miyako made sure to bring one over to Hikari, who gave her a grateful smile and quiet thanks. She sat back down in her chair, and they sat together waving their sparklers absently. Miyako's went out first, but there was only a few seconds before Hikari's extinguished as well.

Instead of going to get more, both girls continued to sit in comfortable silence. Miyako wasn't sure what her friend's thoughts were, but she herself enjoyed watching the others. Daisuke had dragged Ken into a "sword" fight with their sparklers—it was extremely apparent that Ken was a reluctant participant in this activity. Taichi, Yamato, and Sora were steep in a competition on who could write characters in the air the fastest.

And, if she was not very much mistaken, she thought Mimi might actually be flirting with Jyou. Miyako didn't know if the brunette actually liked him or not, but he was doomed if she did. But Miyako thought that he couldn't really complain—Mimi was kind, sincere, and kind of a knockout in the looks department. She was easily the prettiest girl in their group (and in the top tier in school). While she did have her flaws—in that she often spoke before she thought (Miyako could totally relate), she was a little bit vain, and she had a weird, almost frightening obsession with the color pink—Jyou could do a lot worse. And vice versa on Mimi's part—Miyako was glad she could say that there really wasn't one guy among them that wasn't a generally good guy.

Seeing all her friends having a good time, Miyako smiled brightly. "I'm glad we did this," she said contently.

"Me too," Hikari answered, even though Miyako hadn't really been talking to her and more just thinking out loud…which happened a lot with her, actually. In the small amount of light, Miyako could see the corner of her lip twitch as she added, "Even with the whole almost drowning bit."

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that," Miyako said while Hikari giggled softly. She looked back out at the group and her lips twisted with a mix of anger and chagrin as she noted that Ken was increasingly looking like he did not want to play "swords" anymore. So, Miyako quickly sat up straight and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go save Ken, I think." Bouncing to her feet without waiting for Hikari's reply, she yelled out, "Daisuke!"

"What?" the boy yelled back instantly and defensively.

Both of the boys' sparklers had gone out as they watched her walking over to them. "Stop bothering Ken," she said as she reached them.

"What are you talking about?" Daisuke asked at the same time Ken started to say, "Really, Miyako, it's all right. I don't mind…"

But Miyako held a hand for silence as she said to Daisuke, "I'll take you on."

Daisuke's lips curled into a doubtful smile as he said, "Oh, really, four-eyes?"

Miyako could feel her face flood red with anger. "It is on now," she said dangerously. She looked around for who currently had the box of sparklers. Spotting him, she said, "Takeru! My sword, if you please."

Looking startled and confused, Takeru glanced over quickly and said, "What?" But when he saw them, he breathed out a quiet and understanding, "Oh." He walked over to them and fished out a sparkler for each of them. Mimi, who had a sparkler still lit, had wandered over with him to help them get their sparklers going as well. "Good luck," Takeru said as he laid a hand on Daisuke's shoulder.

Daisuke looked at Takeru with a baffled look on his face. "Why are you saying that to me?" he asked.

Takeru looked over at Miyako. Then, she couldn't quite tell, but she thought he looked at Ken. "No reason," he said nonchalantly with a grin. He and Mimi stepped a safe distance away.

Not waiting another second, Miyako gave a cry and attacked.

* * *

><p>Mimi and Takeru watched the battle for a few seconds before Takeru suddenly turned his head to look behind him. "Excuse me," he said quietly and Mimi watched as he walked to Hikari and sat down beside her.<p>

A few seconds later, his place beside her was taken by Sora. "So was it everything you envisioned?" she asked as she waved her arm around to encompass everything.

"Not everything," Mimi admitted as her gaze followed Sora's arm. Still, she smiled at the older girl as she said, "But I'm still really happy I got all of you to come with me. I guess I…" she trailed off uncertainly.

Sora wrapped an arm around Mimi's shoulders. Mimi could hear the concern in her voice as she asked, "What is it?"

"I just wanted to be sure we're all going to stay friends," Mimi said quietly.

Sora gave her shoulders a squeeze before she let her arm fall back down to her side. "I think if we've stayed together this long, there's nothing to worry about," she reassured confidently.

Mimi nodded her head in agreement as she said, "Right."

The two girls stood in silence once more, interrupted only once by Daisuke and Miyako demanding new sparklers so that they could continue their fight since their first ones had run out with no clear victor. Mimi didn't know how you would declare a victor, when neither one of them were seriously trying the hurt the other. She turned her attention back to Sora when the older girl nudged her gently with her elbow. "So…you lost the bet," Sora said as she nodded over to where Takeru and Hikari were sitting and talking together.

"Hey, I've still got until tomorrow morning when we leave," Mimi protested indignantly.

Sora placed a hand on Mimi's shoulder as she said slowly, "I hate to tell you this, but I don't think you're going to make it."

"Me neither," Mimi said with a resigned sigh. She watched the two of them again—Hikari was laughing, probably at something Takeru had said, while the boy himself was speaking with a smile on his lips, though Mimi couldn't hear what he was saying. "I just don't understand," she breathed heavily.

"Understand what?" Sora asked.

"Why they seem to fight it," Mimi said passionately. "I don't think they even allow the possibility to enter their thoughts."

"I think…" Sora started hesitantly, but then she strangely glanced over to Taichi and Yamato first before she continued, "I think there's a lot more to this than we know. I mean, you saw Taichi and Yamato's reactions the other day."

Mimi gave the other girl a sort of lopsided grin as she said, "I kind of thought that was their older brother thing kicking in."

"No, it was more than that," Sora said seriously with a shake of her head. "I can tell. Something happened before. Something we don't know and _they_ do."

"What do you think happened?" Mimi asked tentatively.

"No idea," Sora said.

"I still think it could happen someday," Mimi said stubbornly after another small moment of silence.

"I'm not saying that I don't," Sora said reassuringly. "I put my bet in just like everyone else. Though now I'm kind of regretting putting in at the end of the school year," she said remorsefully. "I think it's going to take longer than that. I'm not sure Koushiro is even going to win." After a moment of silence, she said slowly, "So…Jyou?"

Mimi felt herself blush at the mention of the older boy. "Well, I may like him. A bit," she added quickly.

"A bit?" Sora repeated teasingly.

Mimi gave a tut before she threw her arms up into the air. "Oh, go kiss your boyfriend and leave me alone," she said exasperatedly.

Sora nodded. "Maybe I will," she said with a cheeky grin.

Mimi smiled happily. "Well, it's about time," she said in a mockingly annoyed tone of voice. She placed her hands on her hips, and continued admonishingly, "You two have got to stop solving your problems like this."

"True," Sora admitted with a laugh. "But it's kind of fun to watch him squirm."

"Wow, Sora. That's kind of evil of you."

"I know," Sora said with a grin before she walked over to Taichi. She linked her arm around his and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. Mimi could tell that Taichi was both very surprised and very happy about it.

Mimi giggled when she heard Yamato mutter, "Finally." She looked around at the group, still together, still friends after nearly a decade despite their differences. She was never so thankful for getting lost as she was right then. She smiled to herself as she skipped off to Jyou's side once more.


	9. Double Standard

_11 October 2013_

Hikari was humming as she moved around the kitchen preparing for dinner, making the automatic measurements for two rather than just one almost absently. She was just opening the fridge to get some orange juice when she felt the buzz of her phone from her back pocket. As she pulled it out, the ring tone became louder and easier to hear. Giving a quick glance at the screen to see who it was—Miyako—she pressed the answer button as she brought it up to her ear and cradled it between her cheek and shoulder. "Hello?" she said distractedly as her attention was already back on retrieving the juice.

Miyako's answer was not exactly what she was expecting. Her voice sounding like she was absolutely miserable, Miyako said slowly, "Hikari…save me…"

Startled and alarmed at the groaning tone of voice from her friend, Hikari reached up and gripped the phone tightly with her hand as she said urgently, "Miyako? What happened? Where are you?" Her mind raced with the possibilities of what could have happened and each situation continued to get worse and worse as she let her thoughts run wild in a panic.

"I need to get away from boys!" Miyako burst out, her voice sounding desperate.

Hikari froze with her brow furrowed in confusion—her best friend was literally incomprehensible to Hikari just then—but her thoughts had at least stopped playing out the worst case scenarios that she could think. She had no idea what Miyako wanted or really what she was talking about at all, but she got the impression that it was not, in fact, as life-threatening as she had originally thought. Frowning, she straightened and rested her hand on the top of the fridge door as she asked, "What?"

This simple question, however, was given anything but a simple answer as Miyako started to rant, "It's not that I don't love Ken, because I really, really do and I know he's better than some of the other guys out there and I mean, it's not really _that bad_, just kind of different, even given the fact that I _have_ an older brother and I know what it's like to live with them, which is really besides the point, because really, do you have any idea what it's like being married to a boy?" Miyako asked almost scathingly and not bothering to keep frustration out of her voice. Hikari thought that might have been a rhetorical question given that she wasn't married _at all_ (also, she was sure that Miyako hadn't breathed the entire time she'd been talking), but she didn't even get the chance to say anything at all because Miyako continued to speak. "No, you don't because you won't admit that Takeru is the love of your life and run off to elope with him or something," she said cynically. There was a slight pause before she added flatly, "By the way, I would be so angry with you if you actually did that. The eloping part anyway and not the actually getting married factor of it."

Still slightly confused on where this was all going (because Miyako was being anything but clear) Hikari started to say, "Miyako, I don't…"

But she was cut off as Miyako interrupted dismissively, "Yeah, yeah. Blah, blah. I've heard it before. That's not what I called you about," she said and Hikari could just imagine the girl's hand waving around as she spoke. Despite being still really confused, just the image of that in her mind caused a smile to crest across her lips. Miyako continued, "It has come to my attention that, since I got back from my honeymoon two months ago, we have not hung out and I am in desperate need of some girl time," she finished lowering her tone into one that sounded dejected and pleading.

"Oh," Hikari said as she relaxed and let out a small laugh. Finally understanding what Miyako was going on about and assured that her friend was not, in fact, dying or something, she leaned back down to reach out for the juice carton.

"I fail to see what is so funny about this," Miyako said with an edge in her voice.

Hikari stood back up straight again and bumped the door close with her hip. She decided to ignore that comment from her friend and instead went in a different direction. "What did you have in mind?" she asked as she opened the juice and poured it into a measuring cup.

There was a small sigh as Miyako said, "As long as we're together and out of the house, I don't care."

Hikari dumped the orange juice into the saucepan she had waiting on the stove and moved to put the jug back into the fridge as she said, "Well, tomorrow morning, I have a doctor's appointment—"

"Doctor? Why?" Miyako interjected quickly sounding alarmed and concerned.

"A belated yearly check-up," Hikari explained easily as she turned the stove on. Grabbing a whisk from the holder at the side of the stove, she added teasingly, "Cause I was too busy in July planning_ someone's_ wedding to remember to go."

Miyako snorted that was part an amused laugh and part a scoff. "Why didn't you just forget about it then?" Miyako asked dismissively. "It's been like four months already and it's not like missing a year's going to kill you, right?"

"Probably not," Hikari admitted with a shrug, which she realized after a moment that Miyako couldn't see it. Smiling at herself, she began to stir the sauce on the stove as she continued, "But my mother _would_ kill me if she found out I missed it. Ever since I nearly died of pneumonia when I was little, she's always been a little overzealous about my health. Taichi, too," she added a little more quietly, remembering with a slight frown her brother's face as she had been carried into the house by her father.

"Wow," Miyako said as she dragged out the word dramatically. "You're just a magnet for near death experiences, aren't you? Remember the beach?" she asked.

Hikari snorted as she did indeed remember nearly drowning at the beach during Mimi's Beach Extravaganza. But she thought that Miyako was sort of exaggerating the whole situation. "Seriously?" Hikari asked as she rolled her eyes before she protested indignantly, "I've only almost died twice!"

"That's two more times than anyone should experience, Hikari," Miyako pointed out logically and Hikari had to admit that her best friend was kind of right. "Anyway, you better hope that third time's not the charm."

"Are you trying to jinx me?" Hikari asked incredulously and just a little bit teasingly as she paused what she was doing to raise an eyebrow.

Miyako laughed heartily and said, "No…and what were we talking about again?" she asked, sounding genuinely.

"Hanging out," Hikari said with an amused smile and a resigned sigh at her friend, who was just so easily distracted and caught up by other things than her purpose.

"Oh, right," Miyako said simply in realization.

Hikari turned the stove down as the sauce started boiling to let it simmer while she got the rest of the dinner ready. Her smile still on her face, she said, "Like I was saying, I have a doctor's appointment in the morning, which you're welcome to come to with me and we can just go somewhere from there. _Or_ I can call you when I finish and we can do something after."

"What time is your appointment?" Miyako asked.

"Eleven," she said as she heard the front door open and close. Glancing at the clock, she frowned slightly when she read what time it was. He was a little late today.

"All right," Miyako said, apparently coming to a decision. "I'll come over before that and we can head off to your appointment and then go out to lunch. After that, I guess we could go shopping or something. At least, window shopping. Sound good?" she asked brightly.

Takeru appeared around the wall in the door way at that moment. Hikari gave him a welcoming smile and waved him into the room. To Miyako, she said, "Sounds great."

"See you tomorrow then. Bye!"

"Okay, bye," Hikari answered briefly and a moment later she heard the click followed by a dial tone, indicating that her friend wasn't there anymore. She hung up her own phone and slipped it back into her pocket before giving her full attention to Takeru. "That was Miyako," she said by way of explanation. "She was in need of girl time."

Takeru smiled and nodded in understanding. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he walked over to where she was. "Work ran over a bit."

Hikari waved off his apology as she turned her attention back to the sauce she was making. "It's all right," she said. "I just barely started cooking anyway."

"What can I do to help?" Takeru asked as he rolled up his sleeves.

Hikari glanced around the kitchen as she bit her lip—the rice was already in the cooker, the chicken was already cut up and just needed to be cooked (she had just been going to do that), and the sauce was simmering nicely. There really wasn't else to be done, but she knew that Takeru wouldn't leave her alone. "Err…how about you get the vegetables?" she asked as she remembered she hadn't gotten around to those yet. It wasn't a really hard task—she kind of cheated by just buying frozen bags of vegetables and frying them up in a little oil and soy sauce. It was easy, convenient, and there wasn't really any difference in taste from fresh ones. "I'll fry up the chicken and we'll be ready in about ten minutes."

As Takeru opened the freezer, he said, "I can't help but think you don't trust me in the kitchen since you always seem to give me the easy jobs." There was a light wryness in his tone that gave away to Hikari that he was teasing her.

So, she shot him a grin and said, "It's a well known fact that no male should ever be trusted in the kitchen."

"You know, that could have been believable, if it wasn't for the fact that it seems like most of the more famous chefs are men," he said with a grin and as Hikari thought about it, she realized that he was kind of right. He started opening the bags up as he continued and said, "Besides, with what I know of your mother's cooking, I should be the one not trusting you in the kitchen."

Hikari shrugged noncommittally. "That's a good point," she agreed easily. It was truly a wonder that she and Taichi had survived their childhood. "But I got lessons from the other girls, so I think you should be safe," she added with a cheeky grin to which Takeru replied with a laugh.

With that, the rest of the preparations and dinner itself ran with their normal pattern of telling one another what had happened that day since they saw each other that morning on the way to class. Takeru laughed with her as she recounted the crazy incident that had on the bus ride home with this really weird lady and her cat, which may or may not have had a death wish.

It was later that night, while they were in the midst of their homework, when Takeru suddenly said, "Oh, I should be going."

Hikari glanced up quickly and followed his gaze to the clock, realizing that it was, in fact, already past eleven o'clock at night. "I guess you're right," she agreed with a nod. She stood with him and waited for him to gather up his books and things before she followed him down the hallway towards the door.

Suddenly remembering something, she said quickly, "Oh, Takeru, wait a minute." He stopped with his hand resting on her doorknob and she left him there as she rushed away into her bedroom. She spotted her purse sitting on her dresser and snatched it off. She started digging into it to search for what she needed as she walked back into the hallway. "I know it's in here," she muttered frustrated, simultaneously reassuring herself that she _had_, in fact, left it in her purse while still thinking of where else she could have put it if she didn't find it. Out of the top of her gaze, she could see Takeru watching her with an amused expression. Not quite appreciating his humor at the situation, her hand finally landed upon the object of her search and a triumphant expression bloomed on her face as she exclaimed, "Yes!" She pulled out a small (and slightly crumbled) yellow piece of paper and handed it to him.

Takeru slowly took it from her grasp with clear confusion in his expression. He gave it the barest of glances before he looked back at Hikari and asked, "What's this for?"

Only slightly exasperated (because if he had just read it, it should have been easy to figure out exactly what it was), Hikari replied promptly with a smile, "It's your suit."

Takeru looked back down at the paper again and then back up at Hikari. He opened his mouth, but Hikari, sensing that he was about to make some kind of smart or sarcastic comment, started to speak again before he could say a word. "I mean, it's the dry cleaner's receipt for your suit," she said quickly with only the slightest rolling of her eyes. "I was doing my laundry for the first time after Miyako's wedding and found it in my basket." This had been just kind of weird to her really, because even though she knew that Takeru had slept over that night, it was strange that he had just been so lackadaisical with his suit or that she had let him be so. But then again, Hikari was convinced that both of them had been quite out of their minds that night anyway. She continued, "I hung it up in my closet and promptly forgot about it until about two days ago when I saw it again hanging there. I was going to give it back to you, until I noticed there was some dirt on it. So, I took it to the cleaners for you yesterday. You know that one near Miyako's family store?" she asked and Takeru nodded in understanding. "It should be ready to pick up tomorrow," she finished.

Takeru smiled gratefully at her and said, "Thanks, Hikari."

She returned his smile. "It's not a problem."

He pocketed the receipt as he opened the door. Turning to her one last time, he said quietly, "Good night." Hikari replied in kind as he slipped out of the apartment and the door shut behind him. Hikari reached up to turn the deadlock, hearing the distinct clunk as it slid into place. A sudden uneasy feeling fluttered inside as she had the thought that she was missing or forgetting something. Shaking her head, she walked away from her door and walked into her bedroom to get ready for bed, smiling as she thought about hanging out with Miyako tomorrow.

* * *

><p><em>12 October 2013<em>

A bell jingled as Takeru pushed the door open to the dry cleaner's. He was there to pick up the suit that Hikari had left there. A friendly and somewhat familiar looking man was standing behind the register. It wasn't often that Takeru needed anything dry cleaned, but if he did, this was usually the place that he brought it to due to the convenient location near Miyako family's store. The man welcomed him as he took Takeru's receipt with a smile. He glanced down at the paper and took it over to where there was a pole of hanging garments. He looked through all the bags, finally stopping at one. As he took the bagged suit down, a look of recognition flashed across his face and he said, "Ah, yes. A good, nice girl you have there, son," he finished with a gentle smile as he rang Takeru up on the register.

Rather than correct a complete stranger, Takeru just let the comment slide (as he usually did with anyone else these days anyway) as he paid for his suit. But feeling like he couldn't really leave it there without being impolite, he said with a smile, "Yes, I know."

"That reminds me," the man said suddenly as he handed Takeru his bag. That stopped him in surprise as Takeru thought that would have been the end of it. "I have something for you," he said and Takeru's eyebrows shot upwards in shock. Before he could ask what the man meant, he said, "Wait there for a moment." He stepped away from the register and walked into what Takeru could only assume was the office. About a minute later, he stepped back out and handed Takeru a piece of paper folded into quarters with a smile and said, "Bet you're glad to have that back."

Trying not to show his complete bafflement on what the paper could possibly be—maybe something from one of his classes?—Takeru just lifted the corner of his lips into a semblance of a smile and said, "Yes, thank you."

"Not a problem," the man said. "You treat that girl, right, you hear?"

"Yes, thank you, I will," Takeru said, figuring it wasn't really a lie, seeing as he and Hikari would probably be best friends forever and he had been and would be taking care of her his whole life. He walked out of the store and started to head home. Curious, he unfolded the paper to see what it was. He stopped short, completely and utterly shocked as he registered what he held in his hand. He had never seen one before personally, but he knew what it was all the same.

He didn't know how long he stood there staring at that single piece of paper, but it was some time before he folded it back up and started walking again. He carefully put it in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He typed a quick message and sent it before quickening his steps toward his apartment.

He had to drop his suit off first, but then he had to talk to Yamato.


	10. The Untwist

_Saturday, 12 October 2013_

Hikari turned the key in the lock after she and Miyako left the apartment. They chatted their way to the elevator, talking of nothing important, but when the doors slid open and Hikari saw Takeru standing there, she knew instantly something was wrong. He was leaning with his back against the wall and his arms folded across his chest. His head was bowed towards the ground, but from what she could see of his face she could tell he was deep in thought about something. As the two girls stepped onto the elevator, he didn't even glance up at them. "Hey, Takeru, what's up with you?" Miyako demanded as she slapped her hand down on his shoulder.

He glanced up sharply at Miyako with a look Hikari would probably label as shock, and then when his gaze landed on Hikari, he literally flinched back as his eyes went wide. Frowning at this unusual behavior and slightly hurt by it, Hikari's shoulders drooped down. However, she was more confused than anything else, so she asked, "What's wrong, Takeru?"

"Nothing," he said quickly—too quickly—with a smile that reached nowhere near his eyes.

Hikari knew he was lying—and she didn't quite know how to handle that. It wasn't that he hadn't ever lied to her before, but usually it was in jest or when he was teasing her. Even if that wasn't the case, she had never felt that he was purposefully hurtful towards her, but this…this was flat out lying. There was something that he actually felt he couldn't tell her. That was what she didn't know how to deal with because she had never had to before. And she could tell that whatever he was lying about was affecting him deeply.

Miyako nudged him with her elbow and said with a grin, "Come on. Just tell us what's going on."

Takeru, however, just laughed, but it was a fake laugh. A totally non-Takeru laugh. "Seriously, it's nothing," he said as he waved his hand dismissively. Hikari knew better, but before she could ask or say anything, even if she could think of anything _to_ say, he continued to speak, "I'm just on my way to see Yamato. What about you? Where are you girls going?"

Hikari could see the change of subject for what it was, but all she wanted to do was pull him away and demand that he tell her what was wrong. She glanced at Miyako and wondered if it was the other girl's presence that was stopping him from saying anything. Hikari and Takeru had always been able to talk to each about anything before. She tried to catch Takeru's eye to commune to him that they would talk later, but he was distinctly avoiding her gaze. Alarm and panic sliced through her all at once and tears brimmed suddenly on the corners of her eyes. Hikari ducked her head down in shock as she furtively wiped them away, wondering where they had come from. She'd never really considered herself the kind of weepy girl that cried about anything and everything. Hikari usually only cried when she was truly upset about something—was it possible that Takeru lying to her was affecting her so deeply?

"Are you crying, Hikari?"

She felt Miyako's gentle hand on her shoulder and barely heard Takeru's quick intact of breath. Hikari shook her head as she forced a small giggle through her lips. "Just some dust in my eyes," Hikari said as lightly as she could. "This elevator is always terrible for me with that."

Luckily, Miyako seemed to accept this easily as she simply shrugged her shoulders, though Hikari did catch Takeru frowning at her out of the corner of her eye. Just as the elevator reached the bottom floor and the doors chimed open, Miyako turned her attention back to Takeru as she said, "We have just a quick trip to the doctor before we hit the mall."

They had all walked out the doors, but Takeru suddenly stopped up short. Hikari and Miyako stopped as well and turned back to look at him. "Doctor?" Takeru repeated instantly concerned.

It was in that concern that Hikari found the _real_ Takeru—not just her friend, but her absolute _best_ friend. She realized that whatever he was hiding from her, she would just have to trust that he would tell her when he was ready. After all, it could just be something as simple as a surprise for her—and she wouldn't want to ruin that. Hikari doubted that was what it was from his behavior, but she would just have to believe that he would come to her, trust that he knew that she was here for him no matter what. So, she laughed brightly to reassure him as she said, "Just the good old regular yearly check-up for me. Nothing to worry about."

There was nothing marring the genuine confusion in his expression. "Don't you usually do that in July?" he asked.

Hikari nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but with the wedding and all, I just completely forgot about it. And it's been a busy semester so far, so I didn't remember again until just last week that I hadn't done it yet," she explained.

She didn't know why, but his jaw tightened at her words and a muscle jumped in his cheek. She couldn't be sure, but she thought he might have paled slightly as well. He seemed to almost forcing himself to sound normal as he said, "It's good that you're doing it. Your mom would be upset to know that you missed it." Hikari tried to push down the alarm in her that threatened to surface.

Suddenly, almost as if she was completely unaware of the tension that Hikari felt so palpably, Miyako burst out laughing. In a moment more normal than either one of them had managed since meeting in the elevator, Hikari exchanged a glance with Takeru, and she could tell that he was thinking the same exact thing as she was—namely, that Miyako was insane.

"Sorry…" Miyako wheezed out between breaths. "It's just that…sorry…you two…you…she…" She seemed unable to continue speaking as her peals of laughter seemed to renew themselves.

Tentatively, Hikari asked, "Miyako?"

"Hikari said the same thing!" Miyako burst out suddenly, before she collapsed into laughter once more. "Sorry…don't know…not really funny…" she said, once again speaking nearly incoherently in between breaths. She started walking towards the street, leaving Takeru and Hikari no choice to follow after her. As they made it to the sidewalk, Miyako's laughter had mostly subsided, though she still burst into small chuckles occasionally. "Wow, sorry," she said with a grin. "Seriously, guys, I have no idea why that struck me as so funny."

Hikari shrugged and she did not fail to notice that Takeru did the same thing. "Not a problem," he said. "Happens to all of us." He suddenly looked in the opposite direction from where Hikari knew she and Miyako were going. She frowned in thought, until she remembered that he was headed for Yamato's apartment, which was in fact the opposite direction from the bus stop they were going to use to get to the doctor's. Since Yamato's was within walking distance, it seemed that Takeru was not going with them any longer. He confirmed that by giving them half a smile—more real than Hikari had seen from him so far—and saying, "So…I'll see you guys later."

"Sure," Miyako said with a wave, already turning her back and walking towards the bus stop.

Hikari bit her lip as a moment of indecision rushed through her. Almost without conscious thought, she reached out and grabbed onto Takeru's sleeve before he could start walking. She was sure that she did not imagine the slight jump from Takeru as she did so, but she brushed this off for the moment as she said, "Takeru…are you..." She trailed off unsure that she wanted to intrude on this.

"Hikari, hurry it up!" Miyako called out suddenly.

She turned to her other friend and pleasantly said, "Just a minute!" She looked back at Takeru, pouring as much concern as could into her expression.

Takeru's face slid into that gentle smile that she knew so well, but she could see some sorrow behind it—something else she knew as well. He smoothly reached over and pulled her grasp from his sleeves as he said, "Hikari, I…" He trailed off as well as she saw him gulp. "I promise I will tell you later," he finally said after a few silent moments. He caught her gaze as she could see the sincerity in it as he whispered, "I promise."

Knowing that they had no time at the moment and that Miyako was waiting for her, Hikari nodded and took a step back from him. She turned and didn't look back as she ran after Miyako. "What took you so long?" her friend asked as she approached.

"Nothing," Hikari said as she smiled at her friend. "Let's go before we miss our bus."

* * *

><p>"Thanks for coming with me," Hikari said again as she and Miyako walked into the doctor's office.<p>

"No problem!" Miyako said, as they approached the receptionist. After she greeted them and handed Hikari the obligatory clipboard with the usual paperwork, the two women sat down and Hikari started to fill out the forms. Miyako glanced around than noted with some happiness that the waiting room was pretty empty so she hoped that meant they wouldn't have to wait very long. She reached out to the table and grabbed one of the magazines lying on it. She perused through it, not really finding any article in particular that she wanted to read, but it wasn't like she had anything else to do.

Hikari finished filling out the forms in a few minutes and went to hand them to the receptionist. Miyako started talking to her as she sat back down about an article about skin care that she found interesting—in that she couldn't believe what people came up with these days to take care of their skin.

"Hikari Yagami?" the receptionist called out.

Hikari smiled at Miyako and asked, "Do you want to wait here or come back with me?"

Miyako stood up and waved her hand towards the door. "Lead the way, Miss Invalid," she stated with a grin.

As they started to walk behind the nurse to the room, Hikari gave a little giggle and shook her head at her friend's theatrics. Hikari hopped up onto the tiny examination table as Miyako took one of the two empty chairs in the room. The nurse started doing the things Hikari was used to during every examination, such as taking her height, weight, and blood pressure and entered them on the computer sitting in the room. There was only a few minutes of waiting before Hikari's regular doctor, Misaki Ito, walked into the room.

"Good morning, Ms. Yagami," Dr. Ito said pleasantly. "How are you today?"

Hikari returned the doctor's smile with one of her own as she said, "Fine, thank you."

"That's good to hear," Dr. Ito said. After that, she went immediately to the computer, and Miyako assumed she was looking at the data that the nurse had just put in. Miyako barely saw the minute frown that passed across the doctor's lips for just a moment before it disappeared. When she turned back to Hikari, Miyako saw that the doctor had on her pleasant expression once again. She pulled the stethoscope off from around her neck and placed it against Hikari's chest. "Deep breath, please," Dr. Ito instructed, as she looked down at her watch.

Miyako sat up straighter as the doctor's lip twitched just barely. She had only really just been joking yesterday—she didn't actually want something to be wrong with her best friend. The doctor repeated the same thing, except that this time with the stethoscope against Hikari's back. Without a word, she made a few notes on the computer. Miyako looked at Hikari, but her friend did not seem alarmed in the slightest. "Have you had any problems lately?" the doctor asked neutrally.

Hikari tilted her head in thought before she said, "Well, I've been having a little heartburn lately, but it hasn't been too bad. I really think it's just been because it's been a stressful semester for me."

The doctor nodded and asked, "Have you found yourself experiencing extra fatigue or shortness of breath when you exert yourself?" Miyako noted that the doctor sounded casual for the most part, but there was a small underlining urgency about her tone that Miyako didn't like. She wondered if the doctor had something in mind for what was wrong, _if_ there was anything in the first place. Miyako really hoped that there wasn't.

Hikari seemed to be giving the question serious thought. Slowly, she nodded. "Actually, yeah, I have," she said. Her gaze suddenly narrowed. "Why?"

The doctor shook her head as she said, "One last question first." Hikari nodded in assent before Dr. Ito asked, "When was your last period?"

Hikari opened her mouth to answer what was a relatively easy question, but then closed it again as a look of confused concentration crossed her face. "It was about three months ago," she said slowly and with a befuddled tone. "I've been so busy that I hadn't really noticed. And I've always been kind of irregular. It's not unheard of for me to miss a month, but to miss two in a row…" she trailed off with her brows furrowed together

Miyako's mind started twirling in thought, but she was speechless in shock. Dr. Ito was quiet for a moment as she glanced at the computer screen. "I saw what you marked, but are you sure that there's no chance that you're pregnant?" Slowly, Hikari's expression morphed into an expression of disbelief and mild panic as the doctor spoke.

"That's impossible," Hikari burst out. "I've never even—" she cut off as she gasped loudly as her eyes widened considerably. She covered her mouth with her hands as her face paled to nearly deathly white. "Oh, no," she whispered frantically. "Oh no, no, no, no…" She trailed off as her eyes clenched shut.

"I guess this means there is a possibility?"

Without opening her eyes, Hikari gave the smallest of nods. Miyako's jaw dropped in utter shock—mostly because Hikari hadn't dated anyone in the past six months or so and she had _never_ dated anyone seriously enough for that _ever_. The amount of guys she'd actually kissed could be counted on _one_ hand. Dr. Ito looked at Hikari with compassion. "Ms. Yagami, I know it's hard for girls to admit these things happen, but if there's anyone you'd like to report—"

"No," Hikari said firmly as she shook her head vigorously. "It wasn't like that. He…he would have _never_…" Miyako sat up straighter as Hikari said that. Her mind processed that quickly into the potential father being someone Hikari knew and someone she knew _well_. And Miyako had an inkling of a feeling that she knew who it was. Hikari continued, "But wouldn't I have had morning sickness or something?

"Not necessarily," Dr. Ito explained. "Morning sickness actually only happens in about seventy percent of pregnancies. You could be part of the lucky thirty percent."

Hikari looked like she didn't think she was lucky at all. Quietly, she asked, "Is there a way we can test now to be sure?"

The doctor smiled and stood up. "Of course," she said. "Just come with me and we'll have the nurse help you. We'll also need to take some blood for some tests in case it turns out positive."

Hikari didn't met Miyako's eyes as she followed Dr. Ito out. As soon as the door closed, Miyako shot to her feet and began to pace about the small room to vent some of her frustration. She couldn't believe Hikari had withheld this kind of juicy news from her.

By the time, Hikari entered the room again, with a fresh bandage above the crook of her elbow where they had taken her blood, Miyako had worked herself up quite a bit . Miyako was about to hound her until she noticed the pallor of Hikari's face. As Hikari closed the door again, she leaned against it and sighed heavily as she leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling. "Hikari?" Miyako asked tentatively.

Hikari didn't look at her as she said, "She'll be back in a few minutes with the results." She lowered her gaze and there was half a sardonic smile that didn't fit on her face. "I tell you, if this turns out to be true, I am going to murder Daisuke."

Miyako gaped at her as this bit of information processed. "You slept with _Daisuke_?" she asked incredulously—he had not the one she had been expecting Hikari to say.

Hikari gave a small hollow laugh as she moved away from the door to sit back down. "Of course not," she answered. "Miyako, the day you got married…well, that's the only night I can't remember what happened before waking up next to Takeru."

Miyako jumped to her feet again. "It was Takeru?" she asked with somewhat of a triumphant grin as he had been the one she had guessed.

"Look, Miyako, I don't want you to make a big deal of this."

"Sorry, Hikari, but it kind of already _is_ a big deal," Miyako interrupted.

Hikari sighed. "I know, but it was more of an accident than anything else."

"Hikari, you don't just sleep with your best friend by accident."

"Well, this time was," Hikari protested. "At your reception, Daisuke gave me and Takeru some sort of drink—I have no idea what, but I will kill him for it—and everything is sort of fuzzy after that."

"Is that why you two disappeared?"

Hikari shrugged. "I guess. Neither of us thought anything happened because we had clothes on the next morning and we sleep over at each others' apartments all the time anyway…but I guess something did happen." There was a gentle smile on her face. "I don't know if it's destiny or just fate casting its own joke at my face, but it makes sense that it would be him for my first time. After all, he was my first crush and my first kiss, too."

"You had a crush on Takeru and you _kissed_ him? When was this?"

"I had a crush on him back when we were in like second grade—which doesn't even really count. Obviously, I got over it. And he kissed me at the end of our third year of middle school, but only because I asked him to."

"Wait, you _asked_ him to kiss you?" Miyako asked incredulously.

Hikari gave another shrug. "I hadn't been kissed yet and I was wondering what it was like, so I…you know…" Her expression was rather sheepish as she turned her gaze away from Miyako.

Miyako felt for the poor boy as she shook her head at her usually so sensible best friend. It hadn't been obvious—he'd been very good at hiding it—but Miyako used to sometimes catch Takeru looking at Hikari for the barest of moments with expressions that she'd always thought meant he was harboring feelings for Hikari. But that had stopped by the time they'd entered high school. After, Miyako realized with a jolt, the two of them had kissed.

Just then, Dr. Ito came back in and Miyako saw Hikari tense up out of the corner of her eye. "The test came back positive," she said with a bright smile. "Congratulations. We need to schedule an ultrasound so that we can see how the baby is doing. I'll also get you some recommendations for a few obstetricians. See the receptionist on the way out, okay?"

"All right," Hikari said almost sounding hoarse. The doctor continued to give out instructions about vitamins, what Hikari should and should not eat, and various other things that Hikari just kept nodding and agreeing to almost in a daze. Finally, she let them go, but they stopped by the desk to see the receptionist.

They were both quiet on their way back to the bus stop after scheduling Hikari's ultrasound for next week. As they were waiting for the bus to arrive to take them to the restaurant they were going to eat lunch at, Hikari said, "You can't tell anyone about this."

"I won't," Miyako said rolling her eyes.

"I mean it, Miyako," Hikari said. "You have to promise me that you won't even tell Ken."

"Hikari, contrary to what you may believe, I do know how to keep a secret. But, you know you're going to have to tell Takeru, right?"

"I know and I will, but I just need some time…to think things through."

Miyako smiled at her. "I understand, but don't wait too long." After a few moments of silence, Miyako offered a smile and said, "Well, look on the bright side. Now we have an actual legitimate excuse to look at the baby clothes." Her grinned widened as Hikari burst into laughter.


	11. Babies Make Everything Better

_Saturday, 12 October 2013_

Yamato was not at home when Takeru's message chimed in on his phone.

"Who's that?" Taichi asked him as Yamato pulled his phone out of his back pocket of his jeans and looked at the screen. Beside him, Yamato's best friend nearly bounced with excitement and energy, and though that wasn't unusual in and of itself, there was suddenly a cautious edge to his movements and tone of voice that belied his worry that this singular phone message was bringing about news of the end of the universe. Or at least, news of the end of their afternoon plans. They had just stepped out of the apartment that Taichi and Sora lived in and were on their way to a movie matinee. Taichi had been excitedly talking about it for weeks, and after he and Sora had gone to see it last night, he apparently now _absolutely_ had to see it with Yamato as well.

And it wasn't even that Yamato wasn't kind of stoked about the movie as well (in his own more muted way, at least), but it was really the time spent with his best friend that he was looking forward to the most. They hadn't exactly grown apart since Taichi and Sora had gotten married—Yamato knew they accepted each other far too much for anything to come between them now—but there was a degree of separation that had happened since then. More in the sense of that they spent less time together now than they had before than anything else. It wasn't anything either of them hadn't expected and planned for, but that didn't stop Yamato from being annoyed about it occasionally when he was in one of his less than gracious moods. Which he thankfully was not in at this particular moment.

He looked at the message on his phone with his brows furrowed together in a grimace. "My brother," Yamato answered Taichi's question distractedly as his full attention was on the instrument in his hand now. His brother's words did not really convey any real sense of urgency—it said little more than Takeru had to speak to Yamato as soon as possible—but somehow Yamato had an unpleasant feeling about it. If he ever had to really be honest with himself, there was only one person who came before Taichi in his mind. While he didn't hate his parents in the slightest (anymore, at least), they had long ago forfeited the right to his full ability to care about them more than the man who had become his brother to him in all but blood. So, his baby brother was the single person he cared for most in the whole world, and while his mind knew that his brother was grown-up, in college, and everything, some part of him still saw him as a three-year-old kid with a wide, bright, innocent and _unshattered_ smile (he knew Taichi felt much the same way about his younger sister).

And he knew that Taichi knew all this, so was not surprised when instantly the other man asked concerned, "Everything okay?"

Pressing his finger to the call button, he chose to actually talk to Takeru rather than just message him back. "Not sure," Yamato muttered as he lifted the phone to his ear. They hadn't even made it to the elevator yet, but both of them had stopped walking. As Yamato listened to the ringing, awaiting his brother's answer, Taichi leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. Yamato could tell by his stance and expression that he wasn't annoyed by this delay but only just concerned. He knew that as much as Taichi wanted to see this movie with him, there would never be a moment of regret if Yamato had to run off to help Takeru. They knew each other so well that Yamato knew that Taichi felt his anxiety, even if Yamato wasn't even sure what he was anxious about exactly. It could all be unfounded, of course, but sometimes Yamato could not help but jump to the worst-case scenario first.

Luckily, he only had to wait a few rings before his brother picked up. "Yamato?" he heard Takeru say on the other end. There was nothing in his brother's tone that gave away what he was feeling, which was Yamato's first hint that something might actually be wrong. Takeru hardly ever bothered to hide his emotions unless there was something bothering _him_ that he didn't want to bother _others_ about, not to mention Yamato was used to hearing in his voice the smile that his brother almost perpetually directed at him.

"Hey, bro, what's up?" Yamato asked, keeping his voice as nonchalant as he could. Takeru had become at lot better at sharing his problems with others than when he was younger (which had been because of a variety of issues, including that Takeru didn't like others to think he couldn't take care of himself—Yamato knew that he probably hadn't helped in that area so much), but he would still occasionally clam up if he thought he was being babied.

"Oh, it's—" Takeru paused for a moment and Yamato got the feeling that he had deliberately cut off what he was going to say. Before Yamato could interject anything in however, Takeru quickly continued, "There was just something I wanted to talk to you about. Where are you?" Now Yamato was confused as his brother's tone was no longer blank and sounded just like it always did.

Taichi was making gestures with his hands and mouthing words at him (no doubt trying to get Yamato to tell him what was going on), but Yamato just waved him off (as _he_ didn't know what was going on yet) as he replied, "I'm about to go see a movie with Taichi, but if it's urgent—"

"Oh, no," Takeru cut in quickly. "It's not—" This time Yamato knew that Takeru had cut himself off intentionally. It made him wonder why his brother was so carefully choosing his words—for what reasons he couldn't fathom. While he was lost in those thoughts, Takeru continued, "It can wait until after."

Not really wanting to just leave it like that, Yamato tried one last time and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'll talk to you when you get back," Takeru said with finality. Yamato almost sighed knowing they had reached the point where he couldn't push his brother anymore.

"All right," Yamato replied a little reluctantly. "See you." He waited until Takeru returned the farewell before he hung up the phone. For a moment, he just stared at it, still feeling like there had been something wrong about the conversation even though his brother sounded perfectly fine for most of it.

"Yamato?" Taichi's prodding brought him out of his thoughts. He finally looked up from the phone to his best friend, who had one eyebrow raised in a silent question. "So?" he asked.

"He said it can wait," Yamato said with a half-shrug as he stuck his phone back into his pocket and continued walking. Taichi followed after him.

As they stopped in front of the elevator, Taichi jumped ahead to quickly press the button to go down, and Yamato couldn't resist rolling his eyes at him. In some ways, the other man had never grown up. Taichi turned to him and cocked his head to the said, "You don't sound like you don't believe him."

Yamato gave another non-committed shrug. He felt in a rather strange position at the moment. There had been a strangeness to their whole conversation that made Yamato believe that Takeru may not have been entirely truthful to him, but he knew that his brother would not have been happy to know that Yamato rushed after him when he had explicitly told him not to. Then again, while he _was_ somewhat worried at the moment, he also knew that had it been extremely serious, Takeru had enough sense not to keep it from him. "It'll be fine, Taichi," Yamato said. "The movie will only take like three hours. If Takeru says it can wait, then..." he trailed off with yet another shrug.

There was a chime as the elevator arrived and the doors slid open. Taichi was chuckling softly to himself as they walked on the elevator, clearly finding something amusing about the situation. Yamato simply raised a single eyebrow at him in an unspoken question. Still grinning widely, Taichi reached up and rested his hands on the back of his head as he said, "I'm surrounded by stubborn people. You and Sora, mostly, but even Takeru and Hikari can have their moments. What did I ever do to deserve such a fate?" he finished rhetorically, smiling far too much to even muster any _mock_ despair in his voice.

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. As they boarded, Yamato could really do no more than jerk his head in agreement to Taichi's statement. Some people might have pegged Taichi as stubborn himself, but Yamato never did quite agree. His best friend could be very determined and single-minded certainly, but stubborn implied an unwilling obstinate attitude that Taichi didn't really possess.

"I don't mind if you really have to go," Taichi said.

But Yamato shook his head. "I know my brother," he said. "He may hate burdening other people with his problems, but if it was really serious, he would come to me. Or to Hikari. If he says it can wait, I trust him."

"All right then," Taichi exclaimed as he threw an arm around Yamato's shoulder. "Let me tell you, Yamato, you are going to love this movie." Taichi reached over with his other hand and suddenly ruffled Yamato's hair.

"Hey, Taichi!" Yamato protested, shrugging off Taichi's arm. "The hair, man!" He knew by his boisterous laugh that Taichi had done it on purpose. Yamato allowed a half-smile to curve the edge of his lip upward as he simply rolled his eyes at his best friend.

* * *

><p>Yamato turned the knob of the door and was met by a darkened and quiet apartment. With an alarming sense of dejá vu, he simply panicked and dropped his jacket and keys on the floor and ran further into his home. But when he saw Takeru—pacing back and forth across the carpet, he breathed out a sigh of relief. Pacing was okay—pacing was better than the alternative. Takeru saw him and said, "You're finally here."<p>

Keeping his voice as casual as possible, Yamato flipped on the light switch as he said, "Why didn't you turn on the lights? Or at least open the blinds?"

Takeru blinked in the sudden brightness as he said, "Oh. Well, I can't say that I noticed."

Yamato frowned at his brother's answer. "Why didn't you have me come home sooner?" Yamato asked. "This seems pretty serious if it's got you all worked up like this."

"It's not—well, it _is_ important," Takeru said, correcting himself this time instead of deliberating cutting himself off like he had on the phone. "But it's not life or death or anything like that. I could wait."

Yamato sighed heavily, knowing there was really no point in arguing about this now. "Take a seat," he instructed. "I'll be right back."

Making his way back to his front door, Yamato picked up his discarded jacket and keys before he chucked both of them onto the kitchen table, figuring that he could deal with it later. When he returned to the room, he found that Takeru had not followed his direction to sit down, though now the pacing had stopped at least. His younger brother was standing behind the chair, gripping its back with both hands. It wasn't often that Yamato saw Takeru so tense, but it all usually came down to one person. Only something about Hikari could get Takeru freaking out so badly. And judging from the time Yamato received his message, Takeru had at least four hours to get worked up.

"Hikari engaged?" Yamato asked—partly because he was trying to throw Takeru off and lighten the mood and partly because that kind of really was his best guess.

"What?" Takeru responded almost instantly as he glanced up quickly. "No," he said as he shook his head. Then a look of confusion crossed his face. "Why? Have you heard something?"

"Nope. Just throwing out random guesses really. So, what's up?"

"I'm not sure where to begin."

"Once upon a time?" Yamato suggested cheekily. "It was a dark and stormy night? And so it begins?"

That actually produced a smile from Takeru. Not the full-blown brilliant smile that Yamato was used to and more of a hushly amused on, but it was a smile nonetheless. At the moment, Yamato would take what he could get. "You know, it's a good thing you're taking this so seriously," Takeru said almost wryly.

"Sorry," Yamato said. "But, come on, it can't really be that bad, right?"

The hesitant tense air that had reprieved momentarily returned with full force. Reaching into his pocket, Takeru pulled out a folded piece of paper. Yamato only watched as he fiddled with it between his fingers for a few seconds. "I found this today," Takeru said as he held out the paper to Yamato.

Yamato took the paper from his brother and curiously opened it. As his eyes ran over the sheet, a myriad of emotions flowed through him. First, and most prominently, was the vast amount of shock accompanied by a healthy dose of confusion. But underneath those was just an almost strange lining of happiness and satisfaction. After a moment, he lifted the paper and waved it slightly as he asked, "Is this a joke?"

With a sigh, Takeru rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "You have no idea how much I wish it was."

"So…according to this, you are married to Hikari," Yamato said flatly. Takeru merely nodded slowly in reponse. There was a pause as Yamato let his eyes peruse the family registry again. "How the heck did that happen?"

Takeru sighed heavily as his shoulders drooped down. There was almost a resigned tone to his voice as he said, "I have no idea."

"What do you mean? Weren't you there?"

"I imagine that I was, but…" Takeru bit his bottom lip before he added, "Did you see the date? It happened August first."

Yamato glanced at the paper and saw that Takeru was right. For a moment, Yamato's brows furrowed together as he tried to figure out why that was significant until it finally hit him. August first was the day of Miyako and Ken's wedding…and the night Yamato had spent in a panic because Takeru and Hikari had disappeared. "Oh," he breathed quietly in realization. Suddenly, he found himself grinning as he said, "Well, that's one mystery solved."

"Wait a second. Are you laughing?" Takeru asked suddenly and almost incredulously.

"No, of course not," Yamato said quickly, but not quite managing to erase the grin from his face because the thing was that Yamato _did_ find it funny. In all honesty, he found it rather hilarious and borderline ridiculous. He could not and _would not_ say it, but the fact of the matter was that, despite how much Takeru and Hikari protested any romantic inclination in their relationship, this paper in his hand was the proof that, once their inhibitions had been stripped away, they had agreed to get married. Because, as much as this appeared to be a spur of the moment decision, there had to be _something_ leading up to it. He could not believe that Takeru and Hikari were irresponsible enough to do this on a whim, even as incapacitated as they had been.

Yamato's grin slipped off his face as he felt regret and guilt slip into his heart. He should have found out more about what had been holding back his brother all this time—and not just with Hikari. As another memory resurfaced suddenly, giving him a clue to those very reasons, Yamato had the urge to kick himself for not figuring that out sooner.

"What should I do?"

Takeru's tone was so quiet and familiar that Yamato thought he was still stuck in the past for a second. Then he realized that his brother had actually asked him the question, and he forced his mind back to the present. For the time being, anything of the past was going to have to wait. Takeru needed him right here in this moment. "Well, as I see it, you have two options," Yamato said with a shrug. "You can stay married to her. Or you can not." Yamato flashed a grin at his brother, who returned it just briefly.

But it disappeared quickly as Takeru asked, "But what do you think I should do?"

"Honestly, I'm pretty sure I'm not the one you should be talking to. But judging from your…agitated state, I'm guessing that you haven't talked to Hikari yet."

"I don't know what to say to her. I wouldn't even begin to know where to start."

"Yeah, I can imagine that conversation is going to be awkward. But…well, I don't know her quite as well as you do, but I can't imagine she'd hold this against you. In fact, she'd probably blame herself, wouldn't she?"

The moment those words left his lips he knew that it had been a mistake to say them. Takeru's eyes widened as his gaze shot up in a panic, and Yamato wanted to kick himself again for bringing that up, considering that was seriously something his brother did not need right at this moment. "Forget I said that for now," Yamato said quickly. Knowing that was just about the same as asking a charging rhinoceros to please stop running at you, he added, "You've always been the best at stopping her from doing that, so just worry about one thing at a time here."

Yamato could tell that he hadn't quite managed to convince Takeru to stop worrying about it just then from the expression in his eyes, but his brother did give him a nod, in any case. After looking at it one more time, Yamato handed back the family registration form to Takeru, who slowly took it back. "I'm sorry, Takeru, but I don't really see any other way but to just come out and tell her," Yamato said as he rested a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I mean, this is just one of those things that there really isn't an easy way to tell."

Takeru only nodded again as he said, "You're right." There was a ghost of his smile on his face as he lifted his gaze to look at Yamato. "Thank you."

And Yamato could only give his shoulder a tight squeeze in reassurance before he dropped his hand again, giving his brother a shrug as he did so. There was really nothing more to be said, but Yamato could not help but wonder about the trouble people could find themselves in, even when they weren't looking for it.

* * *

><p><em>Tuesday, 15 October 2013<em>

Curled up in the corner of the couch, Hikari sat with one hand laid gently on her stomach. School and work were over for the day, and she was only idly watching the shadows grow longer on the ground as time crept further into the evening. She was trying unsuccessfully to not think about everything that had been happening over the past few days. Almost without conscious thought, her eyes trailed over to the clock as she chided herself that she should eat dinner. But the moment her eyes landed on the time, the instant thought that Takeru was late crossed unbidden through the forefront of her mind.

Sighing, she let her head fall back onto the arm of the couch. She knew he probably wasn't coming—she could tell that he was avoiding her as he hadn't been over since Friday when she had given him that dry cleaning receipt. And she hadn't exactly been seeking him out either. She wondered if she would ever be able to tell him. She knew she couldn't keep it from him forever—eventually people were going to notice. It was a hard secret to keep with time working against her.

She looked down at her stomach, still flat beneath her hand. She wasn't showing yet—it would be another month or so before it was even minutely noticeable. But the time would come when it would plainly show. Not to mention, she wasn't really holding out on Miyako not inadvertently giving it away some time. The other woman could not seem to help but speak whatever was on her mind at any given moment.

Hikari had seen Takeru just once since the past Saturday morning when he had seemed so distressed about something. They had completely different classes at the university, it being their final year and steeped so completely in their different majors, so they didn't often see each other on campus unless they planned on it. But yesterday, they had just run into each other as they were both walking to class.

It had been a strange encounter. Hikari had expected herself to be nervous around him, considering what she hadn't told him. But, he had also been clearly anxious in the few minutes they had spoken—which had only been small talk, weirdly enough. It was almost like _he_ knew the secret that she was keeping from him and he was the one keeping it from her. The whole thing had been strangely awkward between them as nothing really had been before. The conversation had been short, and it was that moment as they walked away from each other that Hikari realized that Takeru was avoiding her just as much as she was avoiding him. It was also then that she remembered his behavior on Saturday morning before she went to the doctor. Understandably enough, her mind had been almost wholly focused on what had happened during that single visit since it had happened.

Hikari stiffened as she heard the front door's lock click open, followed slowly by the door. She could almost hear the reluctance he felt as the door clicked slowly shut again. There was a tight knot in her chest as she waited expectantly, and a few moments later Takeru appeared in her view, exactly as she had anticipated. He didn't stop walking until he came and sat down on the opposite end of the couch from where she was. She couldn't help but push herself as far into the side of the couch as she could, pushing herself away from him so very afraid of what he was going to say when she told him because she knew that this was the moment that she could no longer keep it from him.

Neither of them spoke for the longest of moments, Hikari simply staring in an unblinking wide gaze, her hand now resting on the base of her throat as she took deep breaths to try to regulate her breathing back to normal. Takeru was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, staring intently at his clasped hands. He opened his mouth once as if to speak but shut it again, pressing his lips together as his brows furrowed further down over his eyes.

Suddenly, he sighed as he leaned his head back and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "This is..." he muttered, leaving the rest of the sentence unsaid. Finally, his gaze turned to her and she could see the anxiousness that she felt mirrored in her gaze. She knew she was about to find out exactly what had been so distressing to him on Saturday, but from his actions and expression, she was getting the feeling that she wasn't going to like what he had to say. But perhaps it was only fair, considering he probably wouldn't like what _she_ had to tell _him_.

"I'm sorry that I've been avoiding you," he started off saying and Hikari didn't trust herself anymore than to just nod her head in response. "I've been...struggling with how to tell you." He pulled a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and fiddled with it, turning it in his fingers for a few moments. Then, Takeru held it out to her and said, "I may...have found out what happened that night."

Startled and confused because that night was the very thing she had to talk to _him_ about, she tentatively reached out and took the paper from his fingers before glancing over it, recognizing what it was after a few seconds. She held a family registry. A family registry with her listed _as his wife_. Of course, shock was the first emotion to come racing through her, but underneath that she could feel just the tiniest bit of happiness and _relief_. This was, in essence, almost a clean-cut answer to her problem. However, it only took a second for those feelings to give way to disgust at herself for thinking that in the first place. She hated herself at that moment for thinking that she had a right to drag Takeru into this—into her decision to keep the baby, not that any other option had even been entertained in her mind—even given his part in the whole situation.

She held the paper up against her face to hid it as sobs began to rack her body, terrible guilt over her feelings allowing the tears to pool down her cheeks. Almost instantly, she felt his arms around her, and she allowed him to pull her into his chest. She felt his fingers trailing through her hair (in a more normal moment than they had experienced in days) as he whispered in his ear how sorry his was and how he was going to make it right.

"It's not that," she said quietly through hiccups as she turned her face to the side, freeing her lips so that he could hear her. She couldn't allow him to continue to say those things to her, when the marriage itself was not what she was upset about. It was her own thoughts of keeping him trapped with her when she played her trump card, her hatred of herself for even having those thoughts, and she knew that this was the moment—she could keep it a secret no longer. "I'm pregnant, Takeru," she whispered.

Even as quiet as she had said it, she knew that he had heard her when she felt his whole body stiffen and his hand froze in her hair—she could tell that he understood immediately. After a moment, she made to pull away from him, wanting to give him the space to process what she had told him, but he surprised her by griping her even closer to him. Hikari couldn't see his face, so she couldn't begin to guess what he was thinking because Takeru didn't speak either as he just held her.

After a few quiet minutes, his hands slid from her back to come to rest on her cheeks as he pulled her slightly away from himself. As she might have expected had she not managed to work herself into a panic in the last few days, there was nothing in his expression but concern that she knew was all for her. "Are you all right?" he asked fervently. "Did you...remember what happened?"

Hikari shook her head as she lowered her gaze as much as she could with his hands on her cheeks. "No," she answered quietly. "It was the doctor who..." She trailed off and silence fell between them once more. When Takeru's hands dropped from her face, Hikari lifted her gaze to look at him—to see what she could glean from his expression. But he wasn't looking at her anymore. There was a droop to his shoulders as he was now gazing at the floor in front of the couch. Even with his face turned from her, Hikari could still tell that his expression was torn and guilty.

Leaning forward quickly, she laid one of her hands on his arm. "It's really not that, Takeru," she said earnestly, guessing (probably correctly) at what he was looking so guilty about. "What we did..." She paused as she bit her bottom lip, thinking of how exactly she wanted to say how she felt, before she continued, "Even if I don't remember, in a way, I'm kind of glad it was you. But...the baby..." Again, she let the sentence hang unfinished between them. As much as she wished otherwise, tears gathered in her eyes again. She squeezed them shut in an attempt to refuse to let them fall.

A single tear escaped defiantly down her left cheek. Before she could wipe it away, Takeru had reached out again and used his thumb to do so. "Please don't cry, Hikari," he said gently. "I know I can't imagine what it's like for you, but you won't be alone."

"What?"

She was surprised to find that he was smiling at her. In seeing that simple, normal expression from him, she found that her heart and spirit rose immediately. Of all the reactions she could have imagined, she didn't know why she hadn't expected this. After all, there were very few things she _could _think of that Takeru hadn't accepted with his typical optimism. "I would never leave you alone with something like this," he said. "I think we've proven our friendship is stronger than that."

Even with all those worries still fresh on her mind, she found her lips tugging upward in an instinctive reaction to return his smile. Despite the length and depth of their relationship, sometimes he still amazed her with his ability to lift her up so easily. But then she remembered the paper that she still held in her right hand and her frown reappeared as suddenly as it had left. Hikari lifted it up and gave it a slight wave before she asked, "What do we do about this?"

Takeru's face went almost blank as he plucked the paper from her fingers. She watched as his eyes perused the paper before he said neutrally, "Who says we have to do anything about it?"

Hikari blanched as her mouth dropped open in shock. "What? You mean, stay married? Takeru, I would never ask that of you—not because of this..." she finished as she laid her hand once again against her abdomen.

To her great surprise, Takeru let out a small chuckle. "I know that," he said. "Which is why I'm offering so you don't have to. You have to admit that it is kind of the easiest solution. I wouldn't leave you either way. So, I'll stay married to you—unless you don't want me to," he said, his tone falling into seriousness at his final words.

"It's..." she started to say with a wave of her hand but clamped down on her words to stop herself from saying "it's not that" for what seemed like the millionth time today. She stared down at her hands, which she started to fiddle with on her lap. It was true that she understood the meaning beneath Takeru's words and knew many of the reasons why he would offer this to her (and it wasn't like she had any other prospects at the moment), but she didn't want him to feel obligated to help her or for him to be unhappy being stuck with her.

She looked back up at Takeru, who was no longer looking at her. He was staring towards the window, his eyes darkened in thought, and Hikari could guess at what some of those thoughts might be. And she knew what she had to do. "Okay," she said quietly.

He blinked as he came out of his thoughts and turned back to her. "What?" he asked, distractedly.

"Okay," she repeated, more firmly this time. "Let's stay married."

Takeru accepted her answer with half a smile and a nod. "We're going to have to tell our families," he said. "Yamato already knows." Hikari nodded when he said this as he said he was going to see his brother on Saturday, and it made sense that _this_ is what they had talked about. Takeru continued, "But our parents...and Taichi..." Unexpectedly, his mouth quirked and mirth jumped into his eyes as he mentioned Hikari's brother.

"What?" Hikari asked, surprised. "What is it?"

But Takeru simply shook his head. "It's nothing," he said. "Just...something Taichi said to me once a long time ago. More importantly, how do you want to tell them?"

Hikari only huffed slightly at his evasion of her question, since she knew that he was probably telling the truth and it really was just some comment about them that her brother had made. Taichi hadn't ever made it secret that he considered both Ishida boys as the brothers he never had. Focusing on the problem at hand, she said, "Well, definitely in person...how about we invite them all to dinner on Saturday?"

Takeru nodded in agreement before he came to his feet and held his hand out to her as he said, "Let's call your brother."


	12. A Riddle Wrapped in Mystery

Author's Notes: The original title for this chapter was going to be "A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma" but that wouldn't fit...

* * *

><p><em>Saturday, 19 October 2013<em>

Taichi was suspicious.

Then again, it was hard not to be, as it was clear something was going on. His first clue had been Hikari's phone call on Tuesday.

For lack of anything better to do, he'd been playing some random game on his cell phone that was really only supposed to be for work when the home phone rang. It had gone through two or three unanswered rings before Sora had called from the kitchen, "Taichi, could you please stop whatever stupid game you're playing and answer the phone? My hands are all soapy."

"Just a second," Taichi called back before muttering, "Come on…" He only had about ten more seconds left in his game. He just _had _to finish it.

But when the phone rang twice more without Taichi moving so much as an inch, Sora's call of "Taichi!" came out quite a bit more harshly than her previous words. Taichi set the device aside and said, "All right. All right. I'm going." He stood up and walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hi, Taichi. It's…um…Hikari," the familiar feminine voice replied across the line.

"Oh, hey, sis. What's up?" he asked as he turned to lean against the side table the phone cradle was sitting on.

"That's what I was calling about," Hikari said, and Taichi didn't miss that her tone sounded really nervous and anxious or the fact that she hadn't actually really answered his question. But before he could interject and ask what was wrong, she continued, "Are you free this Saturday?"

Taichi had scratched the back of his head as he admitted, "Yeah, probably. Why?"

"There's just...something that I wanted to talk to you about, so I wanted to invite you to dinner."

As Hikari had been speaking, Sora had come walking out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Who is it?" Sora asked in a whisper.

He had mouthed his sister's name at her to which Sora simply nodded her head in understanding. "Sounds fine to me," Taichi had said. "What time should we be there?"

"Oh," Hikari had breathed suddenly and Taichi had scrunched his eyebrows at her strange downtrodden tone. "Actually...um...we were thinking of just you and...um...not Sora."

When she said this, Taichi was confused as to why his sister would exclude Sora from something like this. He had glanced at his wife, who raised an eyebrow in a silent question. Holding up a finger to stave off her question, he had blurted, "You're not dying, are you?"

That comment had, after a brief silent pause, elicited a small giggle from the other end of the line. "No, Taichi. I'm not dying."

"Oh...well, good."

"So...Saturday at six?"

"I'll be there," he had assured her. Once he had hung up the phone, he had turned to explain everything to Sora. His wife had been more worried than offended by her exclusion. She had acknowledged that she understood if it was a brother-sister thing but expressed concern that Hikari felt she had to tell Taichi in person rather than just over the phone. Finally, they both had agreed that there was nothing to be done about it until the dinner itself.

So, he arrived as promised on Saturday for dinner, unsurprised to find Takeru there but not expecting Yamato to be there as well. And it was the Ishida brothers' very presence that gave him his second clue.

Hikari had answered the door, gracing her brother with a smile and a quick hug as she ushered him inside. She seemed normal at first, but there was an air of anxiety that hovered around her. He heard the rumble of male voices from the kitchen and asked, "Who else is here?"

"Takeru and Yamato," Hikari answered, leading him in through the short hallway that separated the kitchen from the hall. He started slightly at the fact that his best friend was here but did not comment as they walked into the kitchen. Takeru, like Hikari, seemed like his normal self, but Taichi had known him far too long not to notice that he was nervous as well. Yamato, on the other hand, had only the barest hint of uneasiness about him, and there was an extremely self-satisfied smirk on his face as he looked at Taichi, which gave away that he was really happy about _something_. What that was, Taichi could only guess, but if his guess turned out to be right…well, they'd all waited a really long time for this.

Taichi gave a small wave of his hand as he said to the brothers cheerfully, "Hey guys!" He received generic greetings in response before he looked back to his sister and (partially hoping the answer would be 'no') asked, "What can I do to help?"

Hikari gave a glance around the kitchen with her bottom lip tucked under her teeth. She stopped with her gaze on Takeru, who simply gave her a smile and a small shrug. Suddenly, her eyes brightened as she turned back to him and asked, "Why don't you and Yamato set the table?"

Trading a glance with Yamato, who gave a shrug of indifference in reply, Taichi readily agreed. Hikari pulled plates and bowls from the cupboards and handed them over to the two older boys. As they started to set the table, Taichi quickly realized that something was not as he expected. "Who else is coming?" he asked as he quickly counted the plates that Yamato was setting down which equaled eight rather than four for just the siblings.

"Our parents," Yamato answered succinctly.

Taichi's eyebrows shot up his forehead as his eyes widened. Now he knew that something was seriously happening. It seemed like a little too much for just his guess—namely, that Takeru and Hikari were (finally) dating. "What's going on?" he asked with a splice of desperation and concern. He knew, at least, that Hikari wasn't dying; she had told Taichi that much (and, given Yamato's behavior, it was unlikely that anything was physically wrong with Takeru either).

"It's not my place to say," Yamato evaded evenly.

"Come on," Taichi urged with a playful grin. In a hushed whisper so that occupants of the kitchen would not overhear, he added, "They're together, aren't they?" Yamato sent him his shut-up-_now_-Taichi glare but didn't answer beyond that. "All right, I get it. Just tell me this: am I going to be happy about it?"

"That depends," Yamato answered in a non-committal way after a moment of thought.

"On what?"

"On whether or not you meant what you said," Yamato answered. But before Taichi could ask exactly what the heck that meant (seeing as he had no idea what he said or when and where he said in context to what Yamato was referring), there was a knock on the door.

The next few minutes turned into a whirl of opening the door and welcoming in their parents. It had been Takeru's mom, Natsuko Takaishi, that first knock in which Hikari answered the door. The moment Taichi saw her, he thought it made perfect sense that she was there first and was then actually a little surprised that he had been the first one to arrive besides the Ishida brothers. However, considering that both of them clearly knew what was going on with the situation (and the fact that Takeru lived three floors up), it was likely that the brothers had been there for a while.

To her credit, Natsuko didn't try to prod into the situation the moment she arrived. She seemed less confused seeing the Yagami siblings there than Taichi had about Takeru and Yamato, but as the dinner was taking place _in_ Hikari's apartment, this made sense; it was likely that she was expecting Hikari in the first place. Yamato left Taichi to finish setting the table as he went to take her from Hikari and lead her into the living room, striking up a basic conversation of what they'd been doing since the last time they'd seen each other. Taichi smiled slightly as he watched them in an easy conversation that might not have once been possible.

Soon after, Susumu and Yuuko Yagami arrived (with the same confusion that Taichi had experienced when he arrived) and finally, ten minutes after six, Hiroaki Ishida showed up. Yamato confessed to Taichi with quiet amusement that they had told their father to arrive at five-thirty, in the hope that he would be relatively on time. They were all aware of Hiroaki's tendency to get steeped into his work and forget that life existed.

There was a few minutes of steady conversation before Hikari appeared from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of rice, announcing that dinner was ready. Takeru trailed behind her with food in his hands as well. In a clatter of moving chairs and shifting dishes, everyone sat down.

The easy conversation continued, but Taichi knew he could not have been the only one to feel the rising tension in the room—the air getting thicker in expectation. Nor could he be singular in noticing the complete silence from Hikari, Takeru's limited contributions, or Yamato's pointed looks at his younger brother.

And because patience had never exactly been his strongest trait, Taichi could only wait a few more minutes before he allowed a mischievous smile to adorn his lips as he looked at his sister and Takeru. "So, what's up with you two?" he questioned as he raised a single eyebrow.

It was not a complete silence that fell over their group, but all other conversation did cease as everyone turned to the two of them to listen intently to their answer. It was clear, by the fact that they both slightly jumped, that Taichi had taken them by surprise. Hikari, lifting her gaze for the first time since they sat down, looked up at Takeru, who gazed right back. Their eyes spoke to each other at a mile a minute in a conversation Taichi could never hope to understand. After a few moments, Takeru turned silently toward Yamato with a question in his eyes that Taichi didn't understand either, but it was apparent that Yamato understood. The older brother waved his chopsticks in the air as he said, "You might as well just tell them. That was the whole purpose of this."

Takeru nodded as he muttered, "Right." He glanced once more at Hikari, who gave him a single nod of her head with her lips pursed tightly together. After taking a deep breath, almost as if to brace himself, he spoke quickly. "We got married, so we're moving in together, and we were kind of hoping you would help us move my stuff into this apartment."

For a few moments, Taichi sat there in complete shock, not quite sure how he should react to that. Everyone at the table was silent and still as well, besides Yamato who seemed to completely ignore the announcement all together as he continued to eat his rice. Quite suddenly, however, Taichi felt an emotion bubbling inside him that he recognized immediately. Feeling that it wasn't actually the most appropriate response to the situation, he tried to bottle it down. He didn't quite succeed as a puff of air escaped through his lips, but he did manage to cover that up as a cough.

To distract himself, he looked around the table to see the others reactions. Hikari's head was glued to her plate again as she didn't look at anyone, while Takeru was also avoiding eye contact by piling more rice into his bowl. All of their parents just had similar expressions of shock. But then Taichi met his ultimate downfall by catching Yamato's eyes. Taichi's best friend had a single eyebrow raised and a slight upward quirk on one side of his lips. And Taichi could tell that he was thinking the exact same thing that he was: namely, that their siblings' story, relationship, or whatever they wanted to call it had just propelled its ridiculousness up to the eleventh degree.

So, Taichi could no longer hold in his laughter any longer. Full on head thrown back, stomach-clutching, tears of mirth gales of laughter erupted from inside him and he did absolutely nothing to hold it back. He heard Yamato say, "See? I'm not the only one! I knew he'd understand." This only made Taichi laugh even harder, if that was possible, causing him to nearly fall out of his chair.

"Taichi! Why are you laughing about this?" His mother's outraged tone sliced through his laughter—her voice still had so much power over him (even though he was a grown up married man) that he had stopped laughing completely within seconds. Taichi glanced over at Yuuko, and the sight of his mother choking back tears, quelled his amusement nearly instantly as he muttered an apology. "I don't understand," Yuuko said, as she looked at Hikari, who still had her head hung over her plate, chopsticks pushing her food around idly. "Why...didn't you want us there?"

Hikari's gaze shot up as she looked sharply at her mother. "Mom, that's not...you're only mad about that?"

"I suppose so," Yuuko answered thoughtfully. "After all, we love Takeru and I can't really imagine any one better for you than him. And it's not really coming as a complete surprise that you picked him, but you are my only daughter and I was looking forward to being a part of you wedding. Not that I wasn't a part of Taichi's wedding, but I didn't really help much with the planning on it with your brother being how he is and I didn't want to impose on Sora and her mother. But I had dreams and plans and I know you don't like big productions, but didn't you want some of that? Even a little?"

"Mom, it wasn't like that," Hikari said quietly. A stain of pink marked her cheeks as her gaze fell back to her plate. "It was—" At this point, she looked pleadingly at Takeru.

Takeru sighed and said, "It was sort of an accident."

"An accident?" Natsuko repeated sharply. "What does that mean?"

"At Ken and Miyako's wedding, we drank too much and soft of just eloped," Takeru explained as he rubbed the back of his head. His cheeks now matched Hikari's as a tint of red blossomed across them; if Taichi had to guess, he would have said Takeru was embarrassed. He was slightly confused, however, about Takeru's explanation until Yamato caught Taichi's eye and mouthed '_Daisuke_' at him. Taichi nodded, because he knew, to him at least, that explained just about everything.

"Wasn't that back in August?" Susumu asked. "Why are you only telling us now?"

"We didn't remember it had happened until about a week ago, Dad," Hikari explained as her shoulders lifted upwards for a brief moment.

"And you're staying together? Because of something you did on a drunken whim?" Natsuko asked. There was a shrill tone in her voice that Taichi really couldn't blame her for; if he hadn't found the whole situation just hilarious, he might have been in the panicking mode as well. "Are you even in love with each other? Friendship is not exactly something you normally base a marriage on," Natsuko finished flatly.

"There are worse things to base it on," Hiroaki put in tiredly.

"It's not like love always works out either," Takeru stated flatly with a slight bitter edge.

Complete silence followed his words. Yamato was staring at Takeru like he was a puzzle he hadn't quite but was trying really hard to figure out. "I'm sorry," Takeru said quietly another moment later as he dropped his gaze. Hikari rested her hand on his arm and the two shared another one of their soundless conversations. Suddenly, Takeru was smiling like normal as he turned to look at them again. "Anyway, we are going to stay together. So will you help me move in?"

Although Taichi wanted to reply with an emphatic and resounding 'absolutely yes', he knew his was not the approval that either one was looking for—like with Yamato, they knew that they already had that. The attention of the young couple was wholly focused on their parents, so that is where Taichi kept his attention. His parents were turned toward each other, whispering too quietly for him to hear what they were saying. He knew it was likely that Susumu would be the more reasonable one about this, but Taichi didn't know for sure.

The sound of a chair scrapping back diverted his attention as he looked over to find Hiroaki on his feet. Yamato's dad was probably the parent Taichi had been instantly the least worried about accepting this, so he watched curiously to see what was going to happen. Hiroaki had stepped out of his chair and moved towards the couple.

With a quick glance around the table, Taichi found that everyone was looking at the man with mixed reactions. His parents simply looked startled, while Takeru's mother looked concerned with her eyebrows furrowed over her narrowed eyes. Yamato was easiest for him to read, his eyes similarly narrowed like his mother but an upturned smirk on his lips rested on his lips. Someone who did not him well might think he was perhaps wondering what his father was doing, but Taichi knew that he was actually unconcerned and not worried about what Hiroaki was going to say. Which meant that he expected it to be in favor of the couple.

Hikari was biting her lip again, playing with her hands on her lap; her anxiety was plain to see for anyone with eyes. Taichi was actually amused to see that Takeru's eyes were in that narrowed assessing gaze, just like his mother and brother, but there was a light in his eyes, a brightness that Taichi recognized so well because it was so familiar an expression in Takeru's life: hope.

He recognized this just at the moment Hiroaki laid one hand on Takeru's shoulder. The thought made him jolt slightly as he wondered if that could only mean that Takeru actually _wanted_ their approval for this. That led to make him wonder if there was possibly a chance that there could be more to this than one drunken night's whim. However, this train of thought was quickly derailed as he paid attention to hear what Hiroaki had to say when he started to speak. "Your apartment's upstairs, right?" he asked. Hiroaki waited only for the barest of nods from his second son before he continued speaking, "Well then, let's go."

Takeru's face split into a wide grin, and he looked down at Hikari for a moment who returned his grin with a soft smile of her own. Their reaction shocked Taichi for a brief moment before a sly smile bloomed on his lips as his thoughts caught up with him. He looked over to Yamato to see if his best friend shared his thoughts, but Yamato wasn't looking at him—he was once again studying Takeru with that same frown Taichi had spotted on him before.

Another chair scraping brought the attention of everyone to Natsuko, who had risen from her seat with her arms folded lightly in front of her. "Wait, Hiroaki..." she started to say before she trailed off as she averted her gaze.

"Natsuko," Hiroaki said in a low gruff tone that held a line of gentleness around it. "They're old enough to make their own decisions."

A sound that sounded like it could be one of protest left her throat briefly before it was cut off as Natsuko pressed her lips together. There was a moment of silence before Takeru's mother shut her eyes and nodded just once. "We'll come help too," Susumu spook up from the other side of the table, his arm wrapped around Yuuko, who nodded as well.

Time moved quickly after that as Hikari came to her feet and met her mother half-way around the table as they hugged in a myriad of tears and laughter. Taichi was sure he was never going to understand women, but he was pulled quickly away as he was roped into helping the rest of the men go up and down the elevator and stairs bringing down Takeru's things to Hikari's apartment. It wasn't too difficult considering they were leaving most of the furniture and mostly just needed his clothes and things.

As it became darker and they finished bringing all of his stuff down, they all sat down on the couches and the conversation moved back to the easy flow it had been before dinner had started. However, Taichi watched as Hikari quietly made her way to the door that led to the small balcony that jutted out from her living room to view the street below. But everyone noticed when the door slipped open and she walked outside.

Takeru rose to follow her, but Taichi beat him to it as he waved his new little brother down. "I got this," Taichi said as he pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and followed Hikari out to the small balcony, sliding the door shut behind him where it gave a click as it closed. Hikari jumped slightly and turned to look at him. When she gave him a smile, he took that as a sign that she was okay that he followed her.

"Thanks," she murmured softly as Taichi wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

Taichi turned and leaned his back against the solid wall of the balcony as he asked, "What's up, sis?"

Hikari didn't look at him as she traced her hands back and forth along the top of the railing for a few seconds. "I don't know," she said. She let out a soft laugh. "I guess it's just a lot to take in. You don't find yourself suddenly married to your best friend every day."

"I guess not." After a pause, Taichi said, "If you don't mind, can I just as why you guys are staying together? It's not like I'm unhappy about the situation—I'm kind of glad that Takeru's my brother-in-law now honestly. But I'm sure Takeru wouldn't force you to stay married if you didn't want to."

He guessed that Hikari was trying to evade answering completely when she replied with, "We talked about it."

As her big brother, who had never had and never would stand to see her suffer through anything in any way for any reason, Taichi wasn't about to let it go at that. "Then, why?" he prompted.

"Lots of reasons," Hikari quipped, still apparently trying to avoid having to really answer his questions.

But Taichi really needed to know what she was thinking—not because he was worried exactly about her being with Takeru more than he was worried about her being with him for all the wrong reasons. "Name some," he pressed gently.

She breathed out a defeated sigh as she laid her head on her arms after she crossed them over the rail of the balcony. "He's a nice, good guy, Taichi," Hikari conceded with a lift of her shoulders. She continued, "We've been best friends since we were like four and nothing has broken us up yet. We practically live together anyway. And even though I'm not _in_ love with him, I do love him. But most of all, I'm pretty sure I can be happy with him."

"Really?" he asked, not because he was skeptic that Takeru could make his sister happy but because he hadn't know _she'd_ realized that.

Hikari nodded, looking out distantly into the city lights. "Only a couple of guys I've dated have ever made me even slightly curious about what it might be like to be married to them but never seriously. And I'm nervous about a lot of things, but the thought of being with Takeru for the rest of my life, for some reason, isn't one of them," she finished with a smile on her lips and laughter in her tone.

Taichi had to clamp his jaw together just to keep his thoughts to himself. From her words, he just thought his sister was so in love with Takeru and she couldn't even see it. He thought back to a few years ago, something Sora had said. She'd been taking a psychology class during college (man, those were some of the worst five months of his life being psycho-analyzed for every single little thing he did), but one day she'd made the comment about Takeru and Hikari. She said that maybe they'd emphasized the fact that they weren't in love with each other so much that they really truly believed it themselves despite what their feelings might be. She said it a lot more eloquently and added some lecture on the power of the mind, but that was the comment that had really stuck with him. Not that he could do anything about it. Not even now. So he grinned at his sister and said, "Well, as long as you're happy." Taichi barked a laugh then. "It could have been worse, I guess. You could have told us you were pregnant or something."

Hikari didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. It was enough that she ducked her head suddenly, but it wasn't nearly dark enough out that she could hide her deep red blush. Taichi's jaw dropped. "You are, aren't you? You're pregnant?" He practically choked on the words as they came out.

However, she shushed him quickly. "I don't want anyone to know yet," she explained hastily.

"Did you…I mean…is it…" Taichi stumbled his way through the question that he was having a hard time asking since he wasn't sure he actually wanted to hear the answer. Thinking about his sister doing anything like that with any guy whether he liked the guy or not (and he _did_ like Takeru) was just plain awkward.

Luckily, Hikari seemed to understand and seemed to take pity on him when she said, "Yes, Takeru's the father, if that's what you're trying to ask. It happened that night, too," she added quietly.

Taichi glanced into the house at the object of their discussion. Takeru was talking with Yamato; he was smiling like Taichi would normally expect him to, but he caught Takeru looking over at them through the glass doors. "Does he know?" Taichi murmured.

Hikari nodded again, her eyes downcast to the ground. "I guess you could say that the baby is really the main reason we're staying together," she whispered.

Folding his arms across his chest, Taichi moved his head and shoulders in a slight shrug of acceptance. That explanation made more sense than anything else about this whole situation. He opened his mouth to ask his sister another question, but as he realized what he was about to say, he cut off his words before they even started. He really wanted to ask Hikari why she wasn't letting herself fall in love with Takeru (or if she already was, why she wouldn't admit it—they were _married_ now for heaven's sake, not to mention _going to have a baby_), but he knew that he couldn't. "Can I tell Sora?" he asked instead. "And why didn't you invite her in the first place?" he blurted before his sister could answer the first question. "You're going to tell her eventually."

"I love Sora," Hikari answered. "She _is_ my sister, but I just..." She trailed off as she visibly struggled to find the words. "I just wanted _us_, I guess." She gave Taichi a soft smile as she wrapped her arms around his chest. "I needed my brother," she murmured so quietly that Taichi barely heard.

"I understand," Taichi murmured as he rubbed his hand on the top of her head once. He pressed a kiss to her temple as he allowed his thoughts to roam around the situation. Blowing sigh from between his lips, he said, "As long as you're happy, you know I'm okay with whatever you do."

He felt her nod into his chest. After giving her one final tight squeeze, he let her go. She spoke as she stepped back, "As for Sora, I guess you could tell her if you wanted to. We're kind of planning on inviting everyone over Saturday to tell them." She started walking back inside and Taichi followed. He was glad to see her smiling normally when they came in. He missed neither Takeru's relieved look when he saw Hikari nor the grateful smile he shot Taichi's way.

None of them stayed much longer than that. Taichi and Yamato left last, bidding their siblings good night as they went out the door. They managed to make it to the street before their eyes met, and they burst out laughing once again. Wordlessly, they exchanged a promise to talk about this later before they parted ways to their own places.

When Taichi reached home, he found Sora in the kitchen, sipping on a glass of water. She smiled warmly at him in welcome, before she asked, "How'd it go? What did Hikari have to tell you?"

His lip twitched in amusement, but Taichi kept his expression as neutral as he possibly could as he said nonchalantly, "Oh, she and Takeru just got married like three months ago."

It was totally worth the broken glass and water everywhere as the cup slipped from Sora's hand to crash to the floor when Taichi saw the look of utter and complete shock on her face as she exclaimed, "What?!"


	13. Innocuously Important Episode

_Saturday, 26 October 2013_

Daisuke Motomiya's Saturday morning began much like any other. He didn't get out of bed until the clock read well past noon (and there was a distinct difference between waking up and getting out of bed). After leaving his bedroom, noting that his roommate was gone as he always did and he always was, he shuffled into the kitchen to acquire his normal breakfast of cereal. He poured himself a giant bowl of cereal (and his definition of a bowl of cereal was that if it wasn't large enough to hold the entire box then it wasn't nearly big enough) before he wrapped his arms around it and made his way into the living room.

Upon entering said room, he flopped himself onto the couch after making sure the remote control was within reach. It was always so hard to have to stand up again to go get it once you were already sitting down. Daisuke propped his feet up on the coffee table and balanced his bowl on his lap. He reached for the remote control, while trying not to upset the bowl, and flipped through the channels. Stopping on a channel once his search turned up successful, he settled in to watch the match. It didn't matter to him whether the game was new or a rerun from fifty years ago, soccer was soccer. He enjoyed most every match (excepting those ones where his team lost...and sometimes even then).

Indeed, it was his average, typical Saturday morning (or afternoon, if you wanted to be completely accurate).

Nevertheless, this particular Saturday afternoon was going to end up differently. It wasn't that his activities weren't varied on Saturdays; he could be found doing anything from going to the movies to picking up an informal soccer game with Ken and Taichi on any given week. But this Saturday should be noted in that everyone from their "core group" (as they all liked to call it...Daisuke had always rather thought that they should have a cooler name than that, but whatever) was getting together at Hikari's apartment for a dinner party.

A few years ago, this might not have been such a big deal, but as they had grown older, their group didn't seem to have as many chances to get together as they used to. Part of that was simply geographical—they all just lived further apart from each other then they had before. But probably the biggest reason was the fact that they didn't see each other nearly every day like they had in middle and high school. Life just got busy and moved on, despite how much they all still so deeply cared for one another.

Stifling a yawn, Daisuke pushed himself up and off the couch. The television remained on as he listened to the commentators idly in the background. The meeting today would be the first time they'd all be together since Miyako and Ken's wedding all those months ago. Daisuke was super stoked to see everybody. But once he cleaned his dishes and finished getting ready for the day, he realized that he still had a quite a few hours to kill before it was time to go (as the party was for dinner and afterword).

Daisuke pulled out his video game system and sat back down on the couch. Soon, he was lost in the world of his game and when he looked at the clock again, he found that he was actually already ten minutes late for the party. "Crap," he muttered as he flipped his game off and threw his coat on, making a beeline for the stairs. He jumped down them three or four at a time with way too much pent-up energy and adrenaline now to even think about taking the elevator.

Once he made it to the ground floor, he ran outside and rushed to the bus stop, breathless and panting as he sank onto the seat to wait for the bus to come. After he'd caught his breath, his foot began to tap as his fingers drummed on his knee. The tune of some pop song he'd heard at some point (he couldn't remember exactly where) played in his head. He couldn't remember the artist (he thought maybe Jun had mentioned them at one point, something with numbers and letters...he thought maybe they were a Korean band, but he couldn't be sure). Less than a minute later, the bus arrived and he was on his way to Hikari's apartment.

However, the thing about it was, they weren't even surprised that he was late. Hikari answered the door, all smiles and light in her eyes, with not one single word of scolding for not being there on time. However, Daisuke frowned as she turned around and lead him into the living area where everyone else was waiting, answering her questions about how he was and what was going on with school with only half his mind on it. He'd watched Hikari through the years, especially back when he used to like her, and he thought he'd gotten to know her tells pretty well. And he was pretty sure that she was trying to put up a good front for everyone.

This was further proven as he watched her through dinner and as the party went on. He observed as she would speak quietly to Takeru quite often, even once or twice to Sora or Taichi. Daisuke even caught Yamato whispering quickly to Takeru at one point during the evening. Daisuke was not a complete idiot all the time. He knew that he wasn't the smartest person in the world, and sometimes he could be a bit oblivious to what was going on a lot of the time. But he was focused on finding out what was going on.

So when Takeru and Hikari leaned close together for the umpteenth time that evening, he simply could not take it anymore. "That's it," Daisuke suddenly yelled out. Everyone in the room jumped in shock and stared at him, but he ignored them. Instead, he pointed at Takeru and Hikari and ordered, "Out with it, you two! You've been whispering to each other all evening and I want to know what's going on."

Takeru just sighed in resignation while he dropped his gaze to the floor and rubbed the back of his neck. On the other hand, Hikari's face flushed a brilliant red and she looked down and flustered said, "Well…um…I don't know exactly…" As she spoke, Daisuke knew immediately that she was anxious not only because of the tone of her voice, but because she reached up to pull her hair behind her ear.

"Are you two finally dating?" Mimi suddenly asked excitedly, leaning forward. She bounced slightly in her seat as her hands rested on the edge of the couch on either side of her.

"Not…exactly," Hikari said, sending a glance to Takeru; it was almost a pleading look, begging him to help her out. Daisuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion at that answer. How could you "not exactly" be dating? Then again, if he thought about it, and if there was such a thing, Takeru and Hikari would probably be the masters of it. Out of his peripheral vision, he noticed that he was not the only one that appeared confused at this answer.

As he almost always did, Takeru seemed to be coming to her rescue as he accepted her gaze with a single nod. He folded his arms across his chest, and he looked out into the group with a straight gaze. Daisuke was sure he was not the only one expecting his next words as he said, "What Hikari is trying to tell you is that we got married."

Silence fell immediately in the room as the whole group traded glances with each other, as if confirming that they had all heard the same thing. The four exceptions in the room were Taichi, Yamato, Sora, and Miyako. Sora was hiding her eyes with a single hand; her gaze was directed at the ground and unreadable. Miyako was biting her lower lip with her eyes looking towards the ceiling. He'd seen a similar expression on her when they took tests in school and she was trying to figure something out. Finally, Taichi and Yamato had different expressions on their faces, but both were saying the same thing—namely that someone was about to be in trouble and it was not going to be them.

Somewhat nervously, Daisuke burst into laughter. "That's a joke, right?" he asked as he rocked back on forth on his feet. "No, really, what's going on?"

"Oh, it's true," Taichi chuckled, drawing the attention of the room over to where he and Yamato were standing. The two brothers both looked extremely amused in their own way. Beside them, Sora was sighing and shaking her head in her hands.

Yamato lifted a single finger in the air as he added, "I've seen the family registry to prove it."

Daisuke glanced back and forth between them as the smile slowly slid off his face. "You're serious?"

From the other corner of the room, Miyako suddenly burst out, "Wait, what?! I thought...but what about—" However, she didn't get to finish her thought as she was cut off by Hikari stating her name in a sharper tone than Daisuke was used to hearing from the petite brunette. The lavender haired girl's face flushed brightly when Hikari shook her head at her. Giving her best friend a small nod, Miyako lowered her gaze and fell silent.

After a moment's pause, Koushiro inquired, "When did this happen?"

Takeru didn't answer him directly, but instead suddenly looked over at Miyako and asked, "How long have you been married, Miyako?"

Instantly brightening, Miyako perked up her head when Takeru addressed her. "Two months, twenty-five days, three hours, seventeen minutes, and eight seconds," she rattled off instantly as she looked at her watch.

"Subtract a couple of hours off of that, and we think that's about right," Takeru nodded with an amused smile.

"You think?" Jyou asked.

"Er…you see, we don't really remember what happened," Hikari said. "We didn't realize that it had happened at all until just last week."

"How can you not remember getting married?" Daisuke asked.

"Funny _you_ should ask that, Daisuke," Takeru said. "You see, _someone_ gave us some kind of heavy cocktail at the wedding reception and we can't remember much of the night after that."

"Oh," Daisuke said, grinning sheepishly. To be perfectly honest, he couldn't remember half of what he put in those drinks. Only that he thought it would be super hilarious if he pulled the prank on them (and right about now, it really _was_ super hilarious). "Sorry. But how do you know it actually happened then?"

"Well, slowly over the past few months, certain things have been falling into place," Takeru answered as he twirled his fingers around each other in the air. "And there was that copy of the marriage certificate I found in my jacket pocket. So, it's real."

"So what are you going to do?" Iori asked.

Takeru glanced at Hikari who shook her head slightly. Takeru gave her a slight nod in return before looking back at the group and saying, "For various reasons, we decided to just stay married and do our best to make it work."

Mimi, who had been amazingly silent aside from that first outburst, jumped to her feet as if she absolutely could not contain herself any longer. With an excited scream that ran seriously close to a squeal, she rushed to hug the both of them. "Well, congratulations to the both of you. I've always thought that you would make a good couple—you both get along so well. Have you told your parents yet? Are you going to have a ceremony sometime?" she asked in a rush as she pulled back. "I'd be delighted to help you in any way that I can." Suddenly, she gasped as realization hit her eyes and she said in a shocked whisper, "Oh my gosh, I totally won."

"What?" Hikari asked.

But Mimi didn't answer as she began bouncing up and down, repeating, "I won. I totally won!" Daisuke realized she was right. Only Mimi had been bold enough to suggest that the two would get together by suddenly eloping.

"Won what?" The question was innocently asked by Takeru, but there was suddenly a tense air in the room as the ones who had participated in The Bet, suddenly looked at each in panic.

It did not help when Taichi and Yamato burst out laughing at the same time.

* * *

><p>After the initial shock of their announcement died down and The Bet was explained (with much apology and hesitation mixed in), Hikari was glad to see the party moving along smoothly. Neither she nor Takeru were really mad about her friends making a bet about them. They'd pretty much gotten used to their friends insinuating things about them—and hadn't their friends all been right in the end? Not about the being in love part, but at least about them getting together.<p>

Soon, she found herself standing in a corner of the room, away from everyone. The day of getting prepared for the party and the anxiety of what her friends might say was starting to weigh on her. Hikari jumped slightly when she felt a hand on the small of her back. She knew immediately that she was wrong about her first reaction of who it was. Her instincts were proven correct when she turned to give a welcoming smile to her older brother, who was looking down at her with a grin. "How are you holding up?" he inquired.

Her lip twisted down in a half-frown as she gave Taichi a shrug of her shoulders. "A bit tired, but not too bad," she murmured.

A single eyebrow raised as his expression morphed into disbelief. "Truthfully?" he pressed as his arms folded across his chest.

Hikari nodded assuredly. "I'm always tired these days. You get used to it. At least I know the reason now." She laid her hand on his arm as she said this, giving her brother as reassuring a smile as she could muster. These past two week really had rung her dry, but she could handle being tired.

"Yeah...about that..." Taichi began as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Is there any particular reason you're not telling anybody?" he asked hesitantly.

In answer, Hikari merely shrugged her shoulders again as she turned her gaze away. As they often would, her eyes immediately found their way to her best friend—_husband_, she corrected herself. He was standing across the room, his typical happy expression on his face as he conversed with Daisuke, Miyako, Ken, and Iori. "I'm just not really to share him yet," she mused finally. After the soft words left her lips, she shot a glare at her older brother and said sharply, "So don't you tell anyone."

He held up his hands, palms forward, in a placating gesture. "Wasn't planning on it." A moment passed before a small chuckle rumbled from Taichi. "Him?"

"Better than 'it'," Hikari defended with a pout.

"True enough," Taichi agreed easily. There was a small pause where her brother rocked back and forth slightly, like he was barely containing the energy within himself. Hikari knew this probably meant there was something else he wanted to say and was probably debating how much trouble he would get in trouble with Sora (or her or Yamato) if he actually said it. Finally, he burst out, "I gotta ask. Does Yamato know?"

Smiling in amusement at her older brother, she shook her head. "No one else does, except you and Miyako," she added at the end.

Taichi did not bother to hide his incredulousness at her answer. "Miyako?"

"She was at the doctor's appointment," Hikari replied with a shrug.

"Right."

Eyes narrowed, she studied her brother's smug smile that he was trying (and failing) to hide. Coming to a realization, she sighed. "Taichi, please don't turn this into a rivalry thing."

A dry chuckle rumbled in her brother's chest before he answered. "Hate to break it to you, sis, but _everything_ is a rivalry thing with Yamato. Life's just more fun that way."

Hikari sighed again—this time in resignation. She supposed that, as long as it didn't turn into a bitter fight, there was really nothing to be done about it. She decided to leave that train of conversation to rest as another thought brushed across her mind. "Was it..." she began but stopped as she bit her lip, struggling to find the right word. "Was it weird when you married Sora?" she finally managed.

"Nope," Taichi answered instantly. A moment later, his expression turned dubious as he asked suspiciously, "Why?"

Almost helplessly, Hikari just shook her head at her brother, unsure of why she had asked it in the first place. Living with Takeru the past week had been exactly as she had always imagined it would be. And Hikari had contemplated the idea before, especially since he moved three floors up over a year ago and they spent two or three nights a week at each other's apartments. Their relationship wasn't all that different from what it used to be—they hadn't started making out or anything so drastic a change as that—but Hikari couldn't help but feel like something was wrong all the same. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it could be, and she wondered if it was just weird for anyone to be married to one of their best friends. And perhaps that was what spawned the question to Taichi; he was not the only person she knew that had married one of their best friends (in fact, it seemed to be a running theme in their group), but, like her, he had known the person he married for a very long time. "It's nothing," she dismissed as a yawn escaped her lips.

The look on Taichi's face spoke as if he didn't believe her, but he still did not question her further. Quite suddenly, he stepped away from her and announced loudly that he was tired and ready to go home. As his wife rolled her eyes at him, Hikari just smiled amusedly at her brother, knowing that he was doing it because she had said _she_ was tired. She wondered if he was ever going to outgrow those over-protective tendencies and empathized with any potential daughters he might have.

Due to Taichi's lead, within ten minutes everybody was heading out the door, trailing good-byes mixed with congratulations one last time. Takeru turned the deadbolt with its loud clank resounding in the sudden silence that followed their departing friends. With a sigh, Hikari sagged against the wall; her eyes slid shut as her exhaustion hit her in full force. "Hikari?" Takeru's voice was a lot closer than she expected. She opened her eyes to find him standing in front of her, gazing down with concern etched clearly in his eyes.

Waving her hand at him, she said, "I'm fine. Just tired." She pushed herself up from the wall, barely noting Takeru's nod as he stepped back from her. She pointed at the bedroom door as she said, "I think I'm just going to go to bed."

"Okay," Takeru agreed easily. As she went to the bathroom to go through her nightly routine as quickly as possible, he sat down on the couch and flipped on the television. In a manner of minutes, she was pulling the sheets back and slipping into their cool embrace. As tired as she was, it wasn't long before her mind was lulled into sleep.

* * *

><p>As soon as Hikari had whispered goodnight to him, he had replied in kind. The moment the door closed, he turned the television off, darkening the show he had not even been watching. Takeru let the remote fall onto the cushion beside him. He clenched the arm of the chair as he let the frustration that he had never—<em>would never<em>—allowed Hikari to see run its course through him.


	14. Practice Kiss

_Saturday, 13 January 2007_

"I totally forgot the poster board!"

Taichi looked up briefly from the television to watch his sister come barreling out of the bedroom, her purse slung over one shoulder as she rummaged through it in near desperation. He was about to return his attention back to the game, when Hikari said his name. "Hmm?" Taichi hummed at her in response. He was only half-focused on her as his eyes kept trailing back over to the ASEAN Championship match that he was watching. It didn't matter that it wasn't the actual final and only a group match; the game was near minutes from halftime and after Laos had made that stupid, unexpected goal in the 13th minute, Indonesia had been clearly rattled and played terrible for a good bit of the first half, even if they had more possession time.

"Takeru is going to be here any minute for us to work on our project, but I forgot to get the poster board. Can you just let him in and tell him I'll be back in a few minutes?" Hikari asked.

Nodding absently, Taichi silently cursed as Atep's shot sailed high over the crossbar; he was pretty sure that miss had just squandered Indonesia's best shot at a goal for the half. "Sure, no problem," he said.

There was a slight pause where Taichi thought that his sister had left except for the fact that he hadn't heard the door at all. "Repeat back to me what I said," he heard Hikari say from behind him.

An amused smile crept onto Taichi's expression as her heard the exasperation in her tone. "I got it," he reassured her as he watched the end of the half trickle down with no goals from the Indonesian side. His smile turned into almost a smirking grin as he finally turned his full attention to her. "Let the kid in and tell him about that time at the mall when you—"

"Taichi!" Hikari's indignant cry cut him off before he could finish. However, by the shade of deep red on her face, Taichi knew that she knew exactly the incident that he was referring to.

Taichi waved his hand at her. "I'm joking," he said to her. "Go get your stuff. I'll take care of Takeru." Hikari eyed him suspiciously for another second—_had she been taking lessons from Sora or something?_—before her smile blossomed on her face. She left with thanks and Taichi was left in peace to finish watching his match.

At least until the doorbell rang.

It wasn't a very exciting moment of the game, but that didn't mean it couldn't change at any second. So, Taichi raced to the doorway, opened it, and told the expected Takeru to come in before he ran back to his seat. However, once he was there, he slumped down in defeat because _of course_ Indonesia had scored in those five seconds it had taken him to answer the door, _and he had missed it_. Thank goodness for replays. He didn't stay down for long once he realized that his team scoring (whether he was there to see it or not) meant that they were now tied for the first time all game.

The sound of the door closing drifted down the hallway, followed by the light footsteps of his sister's best friend. "So, who's winning?" Takeru asked as he came into the living room. By his light and amused tone of voice, Taichi could tell that he wasn't at all offended by being left at the door (as Taichi had known he wouldn't be).

"Tied," he answered distractedly. "Hikari forgot the poster board and she'll be back soon."

It was only out of his peripheral vision that he saw Takeru take a seat on the other couch as the younger boy replied simply, "Okay." Takeru reached into his bag and pulled out a notebook and pencil; moments later he was opening it up and beginning to work at it. Taichi assumed it was some sort of homework and left him to it as he glued his eyes to the television once more.

But after a couple of minutes, Taichi suddenly realized that he was alone with Takeru—something he was almost certain had never happened before. Or if it had, it was rare enough to note. As he was his sister's best friend, it was hard for Taichi not to see Takeru. Though it was sad to know, he probably saw Takeru more than Yamato did (a fact that frustrated the other older brother to no end, but both knew there wasn't much to be done about it). But any of those times that he did see Takeru, Hikari had always been present. And if it wasn't Hikari, it was Yamato or their whole group there with them.

There were some things he'd always wanted to ask Takeru, but Taichi had never found an opportunity to pull the kid aside without being blatantly obvious. He thought he knew what Yamato did (which wasn't very much, to be honest). The brothers were close with each other, but the chance to see one another just didn't come about as much as either one liked. And there were just certain things a boy just did not ask/talk about with their sister.

So, when Saktiawan scored in the 67th minute and gave Indonesia a healthy 2-1 lead, Taichi allowed himself to turn his attention to Takeru. "When are you going to ask my sister out?" Taichi asked bluntly, watching the kid closely for his reaction.

Takeru froze for just a second—there was a flash of an emotion in his eyes that was gone too quick for Taichi to identify—before he gave Taichi a lopsided grin and said, "What makes you ask that?"

The commentary on the television was somewhat distracting, so Taichi picked up the remote and pressed the mute button. "Just wondering when I'll be able to retire the good old baseball bat," Taichi said nonchalantly. "Having absolutely no interest in the sport itself, you know I only bought it to keep away all those other boys."

A grin flashed onto Takeru's face as he asked, "A shotgun was too over the top?"

"Nah. I couldn't afford it," Taichi replied easily. Takeru laughed and returned to his homework, apparently thinking the conversation was over, but Taichi was just getting started. "I am serious," he emphasized.

"I'm not going to ask Hikari out," Takeru said flatly, but now there were just the barest hints of anger in his voice. Taichi thought that was good—anger meant that he felt something. "Why do you care anyway?"

With a shrug of his shoulders Taichi replied simply, "Because, I would trust you with her." Takeru's eyes widened in shock and his eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline. Taichi suddenly frowned as the protective streak flashed through him and he demanded, "And why _wouldn't_ you like to ask Hikari out? Do you have something against my sister?"

"Taichi, if I had something against her, I don't think we'd have been friends for so long," Takeru pointed out. He sighed and said, "We just don't see each other that way, Taichi."

"All right, Takeru," Taichi said conceding, but feeling the need to put in the last word he continued, "Just know that you have my vote. I'd like to see her with you…in the end."

There was an unfathomable expression on Takeru's face that was broken a few seconds later by the front door opening. Hikari came bustling into the room clutching a huge white poster board. "I'm so sorry, Takeru," she said quickly. As he gathered up his things, Takeru smiled at her and waved off her apology. "So what did you two talk about," she asked as he followed her to her bedroom. "Taichi didn't say anything embarrassing, did he?"

Takeru laughed and said, "You know, in his defense, I've probably been around a lot more of your embarrassing moments then he has." Just before Hikari shut the door behind them, Taichi caught Takeru looking at him with a puzzled expression. Taichi grinned as he turned the volume back on the television. If he wasn't very much mistaken, the boy did indeed have it bad for his sister. Takeru was very good at hiding it—it was possible that he wasn't quite aware of it himself, though Taichi seriously doubted that. It was only a matter of time before he could put away the baseball bat for good.

* * *

><p><em>Thursday, 22 February 2007<em>

Hikari reached her arms back behind her head as she stretched. She felt like she had been doing homework for nearly forever. She glanced out the window where the sun was nearly but not quite setting. It was probably near dinner time which meant her mother would be coming back from shopping soon and Taichi's soccer practice would be nearly over. She glanced at the person across from her and smiled. Takeru had a smile on the corner of his lips even as the rest of his expression was fixed into concentration. She was seriously lucky to have such a great best friend, even though her friends were always getting on her about the two of them being more.

She had a few boyfriends in the last year or two…if you could call the boys she'd gone on one or two dates with before Taichi chased them off with a baseball bat (both figuratively and literally) boyfriends. She pressed her lips together in thought as she wondered why Taichi even had a baseball bat in the first place as he had never played the sport once in his life besides gym class, which everyone knew didn't really count anyway. She shook her head slightly as she returned to her study of her best friend. She just couldn't see how she _could_ see Takeru that way. She rested her elbows on the table and put her chin in her hands. Objectively, she could see why girls at school liked him—he was good-looking, cheerful, and just genuinely nice to everybody. He'd had girlfriends too in the past year or so—his relationships had lasted longer than any of Hikari's (but it wasn't like _that_ was hard), but they never seemed to last more than a few weeks. And, now that she thought about it, he'd never been sad either, when any of them ended…but then again, neither had she after the boys didn't call after meeting Taichi (not that she blamed them really). She felt a sizzle of curiosity rush through her.

Takeru glanced up as he put his pencil down, and his expression turned puzzled as he caught her staring at him, but he never lost that smile. "What?" he asked grinning, probably expecting some sort of joke or random thought.

"Have you ever kissed a girl, Takeru?" Hikari asked bluntly. The question came out of her mouth almost before she thought about it, and she almost wished she could take it back as it was not the way she had been planning on bringing up the topic.

But Takeru just chuckled. "Nope," he said as he picked up his pencil again and returned to his paper.

Hikari leaned forward and turned her head slightly to one side. "Why not?" she asked confused. All those girls (and there had to have been at least four or five of them—she wasn't completely sure as she hadn't really kept count that much) he'd gone out with and he hadn't kissed a single one.

This time Takeru just shrugged his shoulders and didn't even look up at her as he continued to work on his math problem. A moment later, he answered, "Never felt like it, I guess."

Hikari leaned back against her bed and she sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. She pouted her lips out as that sort of ruined her plan. Another thought occurred to her and she snapped her head down to look at him again. "Do you want to kiss me?" she asked.

This time he froze completely for a few seconds before he slowly lifted his gaze to her face—the smile was gone, she noted with some alarm. "Excuse me?" he inquired quietly and with a tone she couldn't quite identify—almost like disbelief and an underlying real anger mixed together. But that couldn't be right as Hikari couldn't ever remember a time when he had been truly angry with her.

Hikari folded her arms across her chest as she explained, "Well, it's just that I've never been kissed before, so I _was_ going to ask you what it was like, but you sort of ruined all that by not kissing any of those bimbos you've dated. But then I figured if you hadn't had your first kiss either, we should kiss each other and get it over with," she finished with a flourish of her arms. Takeru was staring at her with a very rare blank expression. She always sort of prided herself on being able to read Takeru all the time, but now she wondered whether that was more because he let her than her observational skills. Hikari had the sudden rush of feeling that she didn't know the boy in front of her at all. She faltered slightly as she said, "So…what do you think?"

Another second passed before Takeru gave her a ghost of smile—one that didn't quite reach his eyes…one that she didn't like at all. "Sure, Hikari, why not?" he said in a tone she had never heard before. It was so flat—so _not_ full of feeling.

He stood up and walked over to where she was still leaning against her bed. She suddenly felt that she had said or done something terribly wrong, but she couldn't seem to find her voice as Takeru kneeled down next to her and traced her cheek gently with his fingers. A rush of butterflies flitted through her stomach—she'd never felt so nervous and yet somehow extremely excited and happy in her whole life. As Takeru leaned his head in closer, her eyes closed involuntarily in anticipation. The moment their lips touched Hikari felt tingles all the way down to her toes and she had never felt something so wonderful. At the same time, it was all slightly awkward in what Hikari was sure was just their inexperience.

Trying to remember what she'd seen in television dramas, her arms reached up around his neck to pull him closer to her as her head tilted to the side to let him deepen the kiss. Takeru seemed to respond well enough as she felt her back lift up from the bed as he wrapped his own arms around her and pulled her closer to him. It didn't get much deeper than that, and Hikari didn't know how long they kissed for—it seemed like forever and yet somehow not nearly long enough—before she heard the front door open and her mom called out, "Hikari?"

Takeru pulled abruptly away from her and Hikari felt a splice of regret and reluctance rush through her. He stood up and turned away from her so quickly that she barely got a glimpse of his face, which she could have sworn was flushed. "Coming, Mom!" Hikari called back as she ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her clothes as she stood up—not that they were that mussed up to begin with; the kiss had not been nearly long or deep enough to warrant it. She chanced a glance at Takeru, who was busy cleaning up his books and stuffing them into his bag, before walking out of her room. She wandered over to the counter and leaned against it, trying to act as natural as possible. "How was your shopping trip?"

"Excellent," her mother, Yuuko Yagami, replied as she began emptying her shopping bags. "Did you get all your homework done?"

"Most of it," Hikari replied. "I only have a few more problems to do after dinner."

"That's great," her mother said as she glanced past her. "Oh hello, Takeru! I thought I saw your shoes by the door."

Hikari turned back to see that Takeru was standing in her bedroom doorway with his bag slung over his shoulder. His face had returned back his usual friendly smile as he said, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Yagami."

"Are you staying for dinner, Takeru?" Yuuko asked. "We'll have plenty."

A moment's hesitation was followed by a quick shake of his head. "No thanks, Mrs. Yagami," Takeru declined politely. "I have to get home. My brother's coming over for dinner tonight."

"That sounds nice," Yuuko said. "Be careful on your way home."

"Will do," Takeru replied as he walked towards the front door and out of Hikari's line of sight. Hikari suddenly thought that something had to be wrong—Takeru had not met her eyes the entire time he had spoken to her mother. She rushed around the corner to find him standing back up after pulling on his shoes.

"Takeru, wait," Hikari said.

He stopped with his hand on the knob, but he didn't look at her. "Yes, Hikari?" he asked.

"I…um…I…" She was unsure of what she should say or what she _could_say with her mother literally standing a few feet away. "Thank you," she finally said.

He turned to look at her then. There was a smile on his lips, but there was a look in his eyes—almost as if he was in pain—that made Hikari breathless. "Not a problem," he said as he gave her a small wave and walked out the door.

The rest of the day passed in a haze for Hikari as her mind lingered on that kiss and the pain that she was sure she had seen in Takeru's eyes. She hardly slept that night as her mind turned the whole situation over and over in her mind. Hikari really hadn't meant anything by the kiss—it had been mere curiosity (and perhaps a few too many times watching romantic school dramas) that had prompted the request in the first place. She had enjoyed kissing him...

Her thoughts cut off abruptly as she gasped and sat up quickly. Was that the problem? The pain in his eyes...did he think that she was breaking her promise to him?

Hikari had always been so careful never to allow any of those sorts of thoughts even cross her mind—to protect both of them. How could she have let herself get so caught up in the moment to forget any of that for even a moment? Her sleep was long coming after that and lasted a few short hours. She rubbed at her swollen tired eyes as she looked at herself that morning in the mirror; she was lagging behind and for the first time was actually afraid that she might end up being late.

She snapped the light switch down as she exited the bathroom. Returning to the bedroom only long enough to grab her school bag, she made her way to the front door where she sat down to put on her school shoes. "See you later, Mom," she called as she stood and plucked her coat from the rack and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Hikari, wait," her mother called back, shuffling out from the kitchen. Hikari turned back to look at her mother, who stood watching her with a worried crease between her brow. "Are you okay, dear?" she asked.

Making her smile as real and big as she could make it, Hikari replied with an easy lie. "I'm fine, Mom. Just moving a little slower this morning."

She thought she was caught when her mother eyed her skeptically, but Yuuko simply said, "All right, Hikari. Have a good day."

"I will," Hikari said quickly and walked out of the apartment. Luckily, she didn't encounter any of her friends while she was walking to school. She was so focused on finding Takeru—to reassure him that she wasn't breaking her promise, that they were still just friends and that was all they would ever be—that she was sure that she wouldn't have been able to hold any sort of normal conversation. Though she had been running slightly late that morning, she had walked fast enough to make up for it, arriving to the school well before the bell was going to ring.

He was waiting for her in his usual spot, right at the corner of the last turn she took to get to the school. And he was smiling.

Hikari slowed down her steps as she approached him, confused more than ever before. He looked like nothing was bothering him in the slightest, like everything she had seen before in his eyes had just been in her imagination. "Morning, Hikari," he said brightly to her as he pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning against. His brow furrowed suddenly as he leaned in close to her. Wary, Hikari pulled slightly back. "Are you alright? You look like you didn't get much sleep last night," he said. Concern laced his voice as he reached his hand out and pushed her hair back.

"I'm fine," she replied instantly, the words rolling off her tongue as they had numerous times before. Perhaps she had it all wrong; perhaps she really had just imagined all that yesterday. With her spirited buoyed at that thought that Takeru was actually okay, the smile that she managed to throw at him was truly one hundred percent genuine. Hikari reached down and grabbed his hand; he looked only slightly startled as she pulled him along laughing. The conversation flowed easily between them in normalcy, and Hikari didn't allow herself to think on what had happened anymore.


	15. Rage Breaking Point

_Saturday, 23 November 2013_

Nothing had changed.

That wasn't even really the strange part of it. Hikari supposed that some part of her always believed that nothing really could change the relationship between her and Takeru—apparently not even a marriage and a baby. So it never occurred to her that no change would be strange.

No, the strange part was that on the surface and perhaps to everyone else, nothing _had_ changed between the two of them. But to Hikari, everything was different.

She sunk down further into the bath, blowing lightly to push the bubbles away from her mouth. She wasn't really into using the excuse of her pregnancy to her advantage (not to mention that outside her and Takeru only her brother and Miyako knew about it). But by about the middle of the morning, she really, _really_ felt like having a bubble bath. So despite the fact that it wasn't even close to noon yet, she had filled the tub, poured in the soap, and slipped in.

And Takeru hadn't said a word.

In fact, if anything, he was more distant from her now than even when they had first met. They were in the same apartment, but they certainly weren't living together. He didn't touch her any more, either. Takeru used to have no problem with holding her hand or rubbing her back or with any other number of ways that he used to touch her so casually.

But it had all stopped abruptly after that day they found out they were married.

Hikari couldn't understand it, especially since she'd caught him reaching out occasionally to her, only to pull back. _Nothing had changed_. They still loved each other, if not romantically, and yes, they were now together for the sake of the baby, so why couldn't everything remain as it had always been between them?

Hikari knew it wasn't the moving in together that had affected him so much. As either one of them had pointed out numerous times before, they had practically lived together anyway—they only went to separate apartments to sleep (and sometimes not even then). It couldn't even be sleeping in the same bed; they'd been doing that since she'd had that nightmare years ago. No, something else was wrong here and Hikari was at a loss of what it could be...or how she could fix it.

With a heavy sigh, Hikari pulled herself out of the tub and began to dry herself off. Her thoughts were still churning as she pulled on her pants. She'd just snapped together the back of her bra and was reaching down for her shirt, when she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Slowly, she straightened up, and her brows furrowed together as she turned to the side, almost disbelieving what she saw.

She had a baby bump.

It was barely noticeable—it would probably be near invisible beneath her clothes—but it still _existed_. It was there. It was _really_ there. Her baby. His baby. _Their_ baby.

For a few moments, there was nothing but shock. Although, she _knew_ they were having a baby, to see actual physical evidence of it was something else altogether. And then, it only took her another second to realize how happy and excited she was feeling about it.

Unthinking, Hikari burst out of the bathroom and raced the few feet to the bedroom, where she had left Takeru sitting at the desk, working on his homework. Sure enough, he was still there with his computer open in front of him, typing away on the keyboard as he intently watched the bright screen that cast its pale light on his face. When Hikari had slammed the door open, he had turned towards her and away from the desk, clearly startled as his eyes went wide and his body jumped slightly. His gaze met hers, but it only took a few moments for Takeru's eyes to fall lower as his face suddenly flushed beet red. "Hikari! What are you doing?" he exclaimed sounding almost strangled on his words.

It was at the point in time that Hikari realized that she had left the bathroom without her shirt on. It occurred to her then that Takeru probably had never seen her quite so revealed since she didn't favor bikinis (except that he _had_—they were having a baby together after all—but she didn't think that counted since he didn't remember). She was suddenly embarrassed until she remembered for what reason she had come flying in here. "Never mind that now," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. She turned to the side and pointed at her abdomen as she said, "Look! You can see our baby!"

Hikari turned her head and beamed at him, but her expression fell slightly as Takeru stared at her with a blank expression. She watched as he slowly stood from his chair and walked over to her. He seemed hesitant as he stood right beside her, his hand reaching out to place it on the small bump. Hikari sucked in a small breath as he touched her; she hadn't realized just how much she had missed it—_craved it_—and found herself leaning almost unconsciously into him. Quite suddenly, his typical smile flashed on his face as his eyes moved to lock onto hers. "Our baby, huh?" he said, his eyes shining.

His name left her lips in a breath as she found Takeru's face so very close to hers. Hikari turned herself fully into him as her arms reached up to suddenly cup his face and pull his lips down to hers. She knew she shocked him by the stiffening of his body, but it wasn't long before he was kissing her back. And there weren't many thoughts in Hikari's mind, but she did recognize that this was nothing like that first awkward, innocent kiss they'd shared in junior high. Her fingers were winding themselves up in his blond locks, and while one of his hands still rested on her waist, his other hand had snaked its way to her neck where Takeru tilted her head to deepen the kiss.

Something in Hikari was screaming for more, so when Takeru's tongue suddenly brushed across her lips, she eagerly complied by opening her mouth to take the kiss even further. She shivered as his hand trailed up her side to join his other one to now cup her face in his hands. But it somehow was still not enough—she _needed_ more and she couldn't explain why since she'd never felt this way before. Perhaps being without his touch for so long had left this aching hole inside that desperately wanted to be filled. And knowing exactly what _more_ implied, her hands moved in the opposite direction as his hands had, moving down to the edge of his shirt.

But just as she rubbed her thumbs along the waistband of his pants, Takeru abruptly pulled back. "What are you doing?" he asked gruffly. Hikari was pleased to note he sounded as breathless as she felt.

Trying to sound nonchalant, Hikari rested her hand on his shoulder as she said, sounding as light as she could make her voice be at the moment, "Takeru, it's okay. We're married, right?"

He tensed slightly at her words, but Hikari took it as a good sign when he didn't pull away from her. "Hikari," he put out hesitantly. "I'm not sure..."

She could see in his expression that he was starting to shut her out again; starting to put a wall there, but whether it was for his sake or her own, at the moment, she could only guess. She only knew in that moment she would have to act quickly if this was going to go any farther. And she had no real idea where the desire was coming from, but she _really_ wanted it to go further. "Takeru, I care about you and I know you feel the same way about me." Her words came out in a rush, still only a small part of her wondering why she was fighting for this. "We're married, so we might as well enjoy what we have. Lemons to lemonade and all that." She smiled at her own little joke, even though she just partly believed it herself.

The beginnings of a smile started to peak out in Takeru's eyes and on his lips. She couldn't stop the rush of triumph that raced through her. If he was smiling, she was almost always certain that he would follow her lead, whatever that may be. Takeru would do just about anything for her; of that she had no doubt, _never_ had any doubt. "I wouldn't exactly call you a lemon," he joked back with just the barest hint of wryness on his lips.

"Fine. Lemonade to chocolate."

This earned her a laugh from him. "That doesn't even make sense."

"Doesn't change the fact that chocolate is better," she murmured as she pulled him back to kiss him again. He said her name once more in a way that sounded like a protest, but Hikari moved forward and cut him off, actually physically pushing him towards the bed. Takeru did not fight her any longer—occasionally there was hesitation in his touch, but at those times she pressed forward and was met without resistance. She only allowed herself a brief moment to wonder about that—about why he had given in so easily. But soon there was a fire burning in her that stopped all other thoughts from even surfacing, as she lost herself in his warmth.

* * *

><p>Hikari closed her eyes as she rested her forehead against Takeru's back. He lay in front of her on his side, and she could hear and feel the soft even breaths that were coming from him. Her lips twitched in amusement as she wondered at how even this could not come between Takeru and his love of sleeping. Hikari, on the other hand, had far too many thoughts rushing through her mind to even begin the contemplation of sleep—not to mention that unless she was sick, she had never been much of a napping person and despite everything that had happened so far today, it was still just barely the afternoon. It was surreal—not just this but their whole situation.<p>

She scrunched her eyes as she remembered what she had initiated between them and what Takeru had allowed to happen. She couldn't figure out if she was right or wrong to practically force them to this point. Hikari had nothing really to compare it to, since she still didn't remember that first time all those months ago, but she thought it had been amazing and wonderful and…and had put her far too close to that edge she had created all those years ago. That edge of falling so very hopelessly in love with Takeru.

Opening her eyes again, she traced her fingers lightly down his side, barely brushing the tips of her fingernails against his skin. She could feel the tears gathering silently in her eyes, the burning sensation brimming as she refused to blink and let the tears fall. Hikari brushed her lips on his back, placing a kiss just below his neck, before she broke away from him and rolled off the bed. She had to get away from here, away from him, before she allowed something else to happen to her that she knew she would regret. She could not fall in love with him—she could not live through that.

Hurriedly, she brushed her eyes with the back of her hand as she knelt to the floor and reached for the first piece of clothing she could find. Her hands landed on Takeru's T-shirt, but she didn't care as she quickly pulled it over her head. She had to at least get out of this room, where she felt like she couldn't breath. However, once again fate had its own joke at her expense as she heard the unmistakable sound of sheets rustling against each other. Hikari closed her eyes slowly as she clamped her hands tightly against her knees. Her fingernails dug painfully into her skin, and despite her best efforts she felt one single tear trail down her cheek.

When she heard nothing else, Hikari thought that perhaps he hadn't woken up after all. Slowly, she rose from the ground, turning as she did so to see the bed and the sole occupant in it. The T-shirt she was wearing—_his_ T-shirt—fell down around her, coming to rest on her thighs, so much bigger than anything she owned herself. Takeru was lying on his back now with one arm resting over his eyes. At first glance, Hikari thought he really was still asleep, but then he asked quietly, "Hikari?"

Since he couldn't see her, she fervently wiped the tear-stain from her cheek as she whispered back, "I'm just going to the bathroom." She made up the first thing that she thought of that perhaps he wouldn't question too hard. She figured if she did make a quick stop at the bathroom after she left the room, she wasn't really lying to him. But she still had to get out of the room in the first place, so she added, "Just go back to sleep, Takeru."

"I wasn't asleep," Takeru said flatly as he began to sit up. His arm dropped from his eyes, which allowed her to see those blue orbs, which were staring right at her, piercing her in his gaze. They were no longer as bright as she knew and loved them but dark with negative emotions. As his words finally penetrated her mind however, she couldn't help the small gasp as she realized what that meant. If he hadn't been asleep this whole time, then he knew exactly what she had done, including the moment when she had pressed that kiss to his back. Did he also know what it had meant—why she had to get away from him, why she had to save him from herself?

Sighing, he rubbed his face with his hand and sat on the edge of the bed with the sheet wrapped around his legs. When he looked at her, his face so downcast and eyes full of guilt, she knew exactly what he was going to say to her. And she knew that she didn't need, _didn't want_, to hear it. "Hikari," he began to say.

"Don't say it," she interrupted in a desperate whisper, cutting off his words before she would have to listen to them.

His eyebrows shot upwards as his eyes lit for a moment as surprise. "What?" he asked.

Hikari shook her head at him. "Don't say it," she repeated, this time her voice high and moving into the range of hysterics. "Don't say you're sorry because I'm not. I'm not!" She was screaming at him now, the tears that she hadn't wanted to fall before, flowing endless down her cheeks. She didn't want to hear him try to console her for something that had been so amazing and wonderful for her—she didn't want to hear him say that it hadn't been the same for him. She didn't want to know the source of the guilt that rested so deeply in his eyes and she didn't want him to know how very close she was to that edge just then. Hikari had to distance herself right now—both literally and figuratively.

She didn't want to be in love alone.

Takeru stood up from the bed, holding the sheet around his waist with one hand. Everything negative that had been in his expression before now was erased in the concern and alarm that now rested there…and that was not helping her. Stumbling a bit in the wealth of cloth that was pooling around him, he started to walk towards her, reaching out his free hand to her. "Hikari, what—why?"

Before that beloved and hated hand could complete its journey and rest on her face, she slapped it away brusquely. "Don't touch me," she said, trying to sound angry and firm, trying to put that distance between them, but it just sounded pleadingly desperate. She could tell that she hurt him anyway by the stricken look on his face. She felt instantly bad for it and the guilt began to eat at her. She wasn't even aware that she'd started to speak until she heard herself say, "Takeru, I…"

But he was quicker. "I'm sorry, Hikari," he said quietly as the dark emotions crowded those beautiful blue eyes again.

Hikari's breath caught in her throat as she watched his eyes that should have been so bright and wonderful and clear just cloud up in front her and those words echoed through her mind. Those words that she hadn't wanted to hear, that she knew would break her apart, and she felt something in her snap. "Don't…I told you I…" she started to speak, her mind moving too fast, thoughts rushing around too much for her to actually string a sentence together. "I didn't want to hear that," she screamed, clamping her hands over her ears as her eyes squeezed shut again, trying to quell the rush of tears that began flowing again. "I can't…I can't…"

Pain rocked through her suddenly—actual physical pain that went beyond the hurt that she was feeling from his words. She gasped loudly and gripped at her stomach with both arms where the source of her pain was coming from—something in the back of her mind was telling her that this was important, that there was some reason she should be seriously concerned about this pain, but it was just so much and she couldn't focus on anything but the pain itself. Even everything that had just happened with Takeru was pushed to the back of her mind.

"Hikari, what is it? What's wrong?" Takeru's hands were gripped tightly on her upper arms, just below her shoulders. His voice was full of concern and panic—he was always like this with her, why couldn't he ever believe her and let her take care of herself? Her eyes were still full of tears and her mind was incoherent, but she cracked open her eyelids just enough to be able to see him. His face was hovering inches from her own, still with an expression that she didn't like to see, but at least his eyes were no longer dark.

Another wave of pain crashed through her, crumbling her knees beneath her, but his strong arms surrounded her, not letting her fall—_of course not_—and he was still talking to her, but she couldn't hear him over the blood pounding in her ears. She felt something wet, something liquid, trickling down her legs and she was amazed for a moment that she could feel anything but the pain and his arms around her. But then there was a rushing sound around her as she blacked out, and she fell into the abyss where she didn't have to feel anything at all.


	16. Dues Angst Machina

_Saturday, 23 November 2013_

Taichi Yagami, as a general rule, was not the type of person who panicked easily. Each time he was confronted with a problem, he would typically get angry and/or determined and fight back with every ounce of his strength no matter what the situation was. There were a few rare exceptions, but that was how it usually went.

However, he simply fell apart when it came to anything to do with his sister.

So when Takeru called him, the kid hadn't said a lot (hadn't _needed_ to say a lot), but Taichi didn't hear much of anything really except "Hikari" and "hospital". Those words alone were enough to stop his heart for a few beats. He cut across whatever else Takeru was saying and asked which hospital.

"Aiiku," was Takeru's almost toneless reply. It didn't sound like Takeru was panicking or scared, like Taichi might have expected of him (and like Taichi, himself, was doing in ample amounts). Instead, Takeru sounded almost tired and resigned. Some of that was justified; any sort of adrenaline rush he would have experienced on the way to the hospital was bound to have run out eventually and leave him tired. Taichi couldn't figure out what the young man would be _resigned_ about however. But perhaps that was a good thing—if Takeru wasn't freaking out, then it must not be as bad as Taichi had been imagining. Which, of course, was Hikari lying in a hospital with her eyes glazed over as she lay dying in a pool of blood.

He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as his worry for Hikari encompassed him again. "We'll be there as soon as possible," Taichi assured him. Another thought crossed his mind and he quickly asked, "My parents?"

There was the sound of Takeru taking and releasing a breath before he answered in that same distant, almost disconnected, tone. "I called them just before I called you, but they were visiting your grandma—"

"Oh, right," Taichi cut in again, still frowning at how Takeru was speaking. He had completely forgotten that his parents were out of town this weekend. It would take them quite some time to return to the city and get there, but at least they were aware of the situation and were most likely already on their way home.

As Takeru spoke again, there was a pleading yet wary chord to his voice now. "Taichi…" He spoke only his name, but it sounded like he wanted to say more as it trailed off expectantly.

After a few moments, however, the younger man did not say anything else, and Taichi realized that Takeru wasn't going to say anything else. "We're coming," Taichi reassured him.

"Okay," Takeru breathed in a quiet response. Taichi frowned at the thought of those strange tones he had heard in the younger man's voice. He was so confused that he didn't even bother with saying good-bye as he hung up. He stood for a few moments just frowning at the phone before he remembered that his sister was _in the hospital_. It was that thought that caused him to take him to quick steps to the kitchen where he knew Sora was cooking dinner.

She was humming softly as she stirred something on the stove; Taichi instantly recognized it as one of the songs from Yamato's brief stint as a high school rocker. She turned briefly and gave him a distracted welcoming smile as he entered into the room. She only looked for a bare moment before her attention returned to the food on the stove. Taichi knew she hadn't gotten a great look at his face or else she would be more concerned; she was always the best at reading him. "Who was it?" she asked.

Taichi was still somewhat lost in thought, so it took him a minute to realize that Sora had asked him a question. "Takeru," he answered quietly. "Look, Sora. We've got to go."

Her lips pressed tightly together, Sora turned to him again with her brows narrowed in annoyance. "I'm in the middle of cooking dinner, Taichi," she said. "I'm sure whatever it is can wait."

"Hikari's in the hospital."

Instantly, Sora's face softened as she nodded. She turned back to the stove only to turn it off. Wordlessly, she followed Taichi to the front door. As they slipped on their shoes, Sora asked, "What happened?" Then she suddenly swiped the keys from Taichi's grasp as she said firmly, "I'm driving."

His immediate response was to balk at the idea. "What? Why?" Taichi protested as they left the apartment.

"Hikari would not appreciate her older brother getting in an accident driving like a madman trying to reach her," Sora said as they walked towards the elevator.

Taichi pushed the button probably a little bit harder than was necessary as he scowled at his wife. "I would not," he said indignantly. At Sora's knowing look, he dropped his gaze to the floor and muttered, "Much." The currently very small rational part of his mind agreed that Sora had a point and he shouldn't be driving in his distressed state of mind, so he didn't even bother to try to demand the keys back, as unsuccessful as he knew that would be anyway.

The rest of the way down to the parking garage was quiet. However, once they were in the car and on the road, Sora tapped her fingers on the steering wheel and inquired, "Well…" After that one word, she glanced at Taichi for a second with a single eyebrow raised.

As for his side, Taichi had learned quite a bit in the time he'd been married to Sora, but that didn't necessarily mean that he could understand what she was asking with only a single word all the time. "What?" he demanded as he shrugged his shoulders helplessly at her.

Sora clicked her tongue at him in a gesture that Taichi had learned (a long time ago when they had been children) meant she was annoyed at him. "What happened?" she asked heavily.

That brought Taichi up short. He really hadn't needed much more beyond those two words to make him come running. Takeru might have given a reason of _why_ she was there, but Taichi truly hadn't heard it. "Dunno," he admitted reluctantly.

"You don't know?" Sora questioned incredulously.

A soft mirthless chuckle escaped his lips as he tried to think of anything else the kid had said before Taichi cut him off to ask which hospital. "I didn't hear much more than 'Hikari's in the hospital', to be honest," Taichi conceded as he came up blank. His mind suddenly focused on those strange tones that he'd heard in Takeru's voice. He remembered what Hikari had confirmed to him on that balcony so long ago. Quietly, he mused, "I wonder if it has to do with the baby."

Sora jerked visibly as her hands tightened on the wheel. That was the moment that he remembered Takeru and Hikari hadn't really told anyone about her pregnancy; he couldn't be positive but he was fairly sure that Yamato or their parents still didn't know about it yet. Taichi suddenly admired Sora's ability to keep the car completely under control—he was sure he might have hit the median if he'd been given that sort of shock. "The—oh," she cut herself off with that quiet word of revelation. "Oh," she repeated softly as her shoulders sagged back into a relaxed state.

But she didn't expound on her thoughts any more than that even though there was a contemplative look on her face. "What is it?" Taichi asked her after a few quiet seconds, nearly dying of curiosity of what her thoughts were.

"It's just…" she began but there was a brief pause as she pressed her lips tightly together before she started again. "It makes a lot of sense, you know?" Taichi, in fact, had no idea at all what she was talking about. He rubbed the back of his head; his first thought was that Sora was piecing together clues to knowing about Hikari's pregnancy, but Taichi thought that his sister didn't act at all like he thought a pregnant woman would. So, as he didn't say anything, Sora continued, "I mean, even though we all kind of joked about it and kind of hoped for it, I don't think anyone would have blamed them if they didn't stay together because of what happened on a silly drunken whim. Especially if they didn't really love each other. But…a baby…" Her voice faded away again as her eyes narrowed in thought.

Taichi was not following her train of thought at all. Withholding a growl a frustration that would likely only end up with her angry at him, he nearly hissed, "What about it?"

"Come on, Taichi. Think about it," she commanded after that self same click of annoyance that was so familiar to him. Even from the side, Taichi did not miss her exasperated eye roll. "You remember what happened with the divorce even more than I do. You were around them a lot more. Can you honestly think that either one of them would want another child to go through what Takeru and Yamato did?" she demanded and Taichi found himself nodding at her in remembrance. She took a deep breath before she added, "Takeru, especially—remember what he was like right after it happened? I mean, I know Yamato was affected just as badly, but…" she trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid, but Taichi still nodded again in recognition. He remembered quite clearly those terrible months.

As the familiar brick building (it had been the same one Hikari had been taken to when she had that terrible case of pneumonia) came into view, Taichi felt a flutter of panic in his chest. He really had no idea what was wrong with his sister; he hadn't even bothered to ask if she was okay! He felt his muscles tense up as Sora parked the car. She laid a hand on his arm gently, as if to calm him, but she didn't say anything. It was when she took her hand away and unbuckled her seatbelt that he finally moved.

He felt momentary relief when the nurse at the first desk directed them to recovery, and it wasn't long before they found Hikari's room. His heart tightened painfully, however, when he saw Takeru standing outside the door to the room. He was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. His face was pinched and darkened, and so Taichi assumed the worst. "Oh, no…she's dead, isn't she?" he choked out as his steps slowed down during their approach.

Takeru started visibly before he pushed away from the wall as he looked up at them. "No," he said with the barest ghost of a smile that had more sorrow in it than Taichi liked seeing on his usual cheerful friend…no, his_ brother_, he corrected himself after a moment. "She's…okay," he added. There was that hesitant tone in his voice that let Taichi know that Takeru meant that she was alive and would recover physically, but that she was really anything but okay.

"What happened?" Sora asked gently.

Takeru reached over his chest and rubbed his other arm distractedly as he avoided their gazes. "I…" he started to say, but then his jaw clamped and Taichi could see how tense he was in the set of his jaw and how tightly he gripped his arm by the white of his knuckles. "We lost the baby," he finally admitted tiredly. Taichi heard Sora's startled gasp from his side, but his attention did not leave the young man in front of him. There was something seriously off about this situation, but Taichi couldn't quite put his finger on what it was exactly. Takeru's gaze dropped to the ground as his hand brushed through his hair in a clear sign of frustration. "She doesn't…I couldn't…" Taichi frowned at the younger man's apparent lack of words. Finally, Takeru sighed heavily as his shoulders drooped, and he whispered, "I had to wait for you."

Alarmed at this strange behavior, Taichi moved forward and gripped Takeru's shoulder. Quietly but earnestly, he asked, "What's wrong?" But the only answer that he received was Takeru shaking his head, as the younger man quite clearly avoided looking at him in the face. Taichi's shoulders dropped slightly as he wished Yamato was there; he thought that Takeru might be more willing to say whatever was on his mind to his older brother. A little torn about what to do and after a few moments of indecision, he finally decided that his sister came first. Pointing to the door, he asked, "Can we?"

This time Takeru merely nodded and waved his hand at them. Determined to talk to him after he saw to his sister, Taichi pulled Sora along with him into the hospital room, aware that Takeru did not follow them. As they walked into the room, he saw the figure lying on the bed, Hikari, with her back to the door. "Hikari?" Taichi said cautiously. When he got no answer, he traded a glance with Sora.

"Maybe she's asleep," Sora whispered with a shrug.

Taichi nodded and approached the bed, peering around it to view Hikari's face. Sora turned out to be right, as Hikari's eyes were closed and she was breathing evenly in sleep. Though her face was relaxed, Taichi took in her pale complexion and the red rims about her eyes. He knew that all of that could only be the result of her ordeal in the hospital, but he got the impression that she had probably been crying before she fell asleep. But whether it had to do with losing her child (which had to be a terrible experience in itself), whatever had happened with Takeru (because Taichi was convinced that something _had_ happened), a combination of both, or something else altogether, Taichi couldn't immediately say. He could only wait until Hikari woke up so that he could talk to her.

Sora hummed quietly in displeasure before she said, "I'll go see if Takeru knows where I can find a doctor or nurse. Perhaps they could tell us in more detail what happened." She left unsaid the fact that it was clear Takeru wasn't going to say anymore on the subject himself.

Taichi nodded distractedly and didn't pay much attention as his wife left the room. He reached out his hand and ran it over Hikari's head. A few moments later, Hikari's face scrunched up as a soft sigh escaped her lips. "Hikari?" Taichi asked eagerly. His sister started blinking rapidly as she looked at him almost incomprehensibly for a few seconds. Suddenly, her gaze cleared as she reached out her own hand to his face, her mouth moving silently. Taichi frowned down at her, confused, until Hikari suddenly buried her face in her hands and burst into tears. Instinct took over as he wrapped his arms around his sister but not too tightly as he had no idea what the effects of having a miscarriage were. Hikari's arms snaked under his own and around his back. He felt her gripping his shirt with her hands as she now pressed her face in his chest. "Hikari, what is it?" he asked.

He only felt her shake her head violently against him. He heard the door open again and looked up to see Sora coming back. Almost helplessly, he looked at Sora, who was looking almost as alarmed as he felt, trying to put as much pleading for her to _come help him_ in his gaze as possible. His wife quickly walked over to them and rubbed Hikari's back. Leaning in, she placed her cheek against Taichi's own, an action which confused him at first until she whispered in his ear, "Takeru's gone."

"What?" he hissed back. It shocked him deeply that Takeru would leave Hikari at all. He had found it strange, of course, that Takeru had been standing outside the room when they had arrived, but, once he found Hikari sleeping, he thought that had been the reason. Sora leaned back away from him as she shrugged again, but he could see the worry that he felt mirrored in her eyes. The thought he'd had before of something being seriously off returned with full force; again, he wished Yamato was here.

Sora, however, returned her attention to his sister, which caused Taichi to remember why they were here, and he followed her example. "Hikari, dear, what's wrong?" she asked in a tone Taichi usually heard her use when talking to lost children.

"Our...my...baby..." Hikari uttered between hiccups as she pulled slightly away from her brother. She was clearly trying to control her tears, but she couldn't say anymore as a fresh wave of sobs racked through her. Hikari fell back onto the bed as she covered her face with her hands. Taichi could hear her muttering apologies through her fingers; he wasn't sure who she was apologizing to, but he still looked up at Sora, who still appeared as alarmed and confused as he was.

Sora glanced back at the doorway and bit her bottom lip. She turned her body slightly as she took a single step towards it. "Do you want me to see if I can find Takeru?" she questioned hesitantly. Taichi mentally applauded Sora's thinking; Takeru did have a way with his sister that no one else did (one of the reasons, he was positive the younger man was perfect for his sister—not that he would ever tell her that).

His sister's reaction was not what they were expecting. Before Sora could take another step, Hikari shot up in her bed and screamed out, "NO!" No sooner than she had done that, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she cried out in pain and clutched her stomach. Taichi panicked completely as her heart monitor began to beep wildly and short gasps escaped her lips. He grabbed her shoulders and began to yell Hikari's name at her.

Thankfully, Sora reacted better as she pushed Taichi off of Hikari as she muttered emphatically, "Taichi, yelling at her is not helping!" She gently guided Hikari back down to the bed and coaxed the younger girl to "just breathe." Hikari nodded in agreement and a few moments later, the monitor and her breaths returned to normal. Quietly, she murmured her thanks to Sora, who merely nodded in reply. Sora shot a glare at Taichi; he immediately interpreted it as meaning "stay put and shut up" before her gaze softened on his younger sister again. "Now, Hikari dear, why don't you want me to get Takeru?"

Silent tears began to fall from the corners of Hikari's eyes as she croaked, "I told him I didn't want to see him anymore. I told him to leave."

A flash of alarm shot through Taichi along with a sense of understanding of Takeru's recent behavior. Why he'd sounded so tired and resigned on the phone, and why he was standing outside the room only to disappear after Taichi arrived. Takeru wouldn't have been able to _not _do what Hikari had told him, but he still wouldn't have be able to leave her alone while she was like this either. Taichi was rendered completely speechless by his sister's behavior. "Why?" Sora breathed the question he couldn't bring himself to ask.

"He was only with me because of the baby, see?" Hikari choked out. "I've got no reason to tie him to me anymore," she breathed as she began to cry again, and Taichi could do no more than watch as Sora wrapped her arms around his little sister, trying to reassure her that it wasn't true. He could do no more than watch when Sora was unsuccessful and looked pleadingly up at him.

He could do no more than shake his head and curse the day he ever made that promise with Yamato.


	17. Don't Split Us Up

_Saturday, 23 November 2013_

The biting chill of the winter wind hit Takeru as soon as the hospital doors slid open to release him. His clothes were hardly appropriate for the cold weather—no coat, no gloves, no scarf. Then again, he was surprised he'd had the peace of mind to have gotten dressed at all after Hikari collapsed into his arms. And while he _had_ gotten dressed, he didn't have much of anything else on him, including his cell phone. The only reason he even had his keys is because one of the paramedics had reminded him to lock the door as they left. If Takeru had been required to remember that on his own, he would have gone with them, leaving the door hanging wide open behind himself.

But his keys didn't do him much good at the moment—neither he nor Hikari had a car in the first place. Even if they did, he rode in the ambulance on the way here. Takeru looked back up at the hospital. He had no idea which window was actually her's, but he knew there was two people up there somewhere that he could ask for help. However, he tore his gaze away; he wouldn't go back up there. He didn't know the exact reason why—it could be the hormones or the stress or anything—but Hikari had made it clear that she did not want to see him at the moment. And right now, he would not risk causing her any more distress or injury for this.

Another cold gust of wind pushed onto him, causing his whole body to shiver as he folded his arms tighter in front of him. His attention was drawn back to the doors behind him when he heard them slide open again. A man in a long white coat stepped out, and he was staring directly at Takeru with a doctor's concern. "Do you need help?" he inquired. "I saw you out here through the doors and...well, you don't have a coat."

Takeru opened his mouth to brush him off and tell him he was fine, when he stopped mid-thought. "Actually, can I borrow your phone? I forgot mine and need to call for a ride."

There was a moment's pause before the doctor reached into one of his pockets and pulled out his phone. "Sure," he said as he handed Takeru the device.

His thumb played up and down the side of the phone as he stared at the numbers, wondering who to call. He needed someone who would reliably come, someone who wouldn't ask questions. Takeru's lips curled upward as he quickly punched in the number—throwing out a mental thanks in the process that this was one he actually knew without his own phone in his hand. The call was made in quick succession, and, less than a minute later, Takeru was handing the doctor his phone back with a quiet, "Thanks."

"Are you sure you're alright?" the doctor asked as he stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

A smile of reassurance crested onto Takeru's face. "My friend is on his way."

The doctor nodded. "Still, you should come inside to wait."

"I'll be fine. Thank you." The other man looked skeptical but did not press any further. The doctor merely nodded and headed back inside, leaving Takeru alone once more.

It was probably a little less than half an hour later when Iori pulled up in his mother's car in front of the curb. The youngest of their group was not only the perfect choice for Takeru in that he knew Iori would not ask questions and would come to help him, but also for the fact that he had the means to do so. The young man still lived with his mother and grandfather, and while he did not have a vehicle himself, Iori's mother did and she didn't mind if he borrowed it when she was not using it.

In the time that he had waited, Takeru's mind switched between trying to think of nothing and wondering what he should do now; he came up unsuccessful on both counts. So, he really had nothing to say to his friend as he pulled open the door and slid into the car. "Good evening, Takeru," Iori said as he put the car into drive and started out back onto the street to get back to Odaiba (and therefore saving Takeru from having to come up with saying anything at all).

Feeling like he had to give his friend something, however, Takeru decided to just keep it generic. "Thanks for coming to get me."

Iori merely nodded and, when Takeru offered nothing else, the conversation in the car came to a screeching halt. If there was one thing anyone could say for the quiet boy, it was that Iori definitely did not pry into what he didn't view as his business. Which was more than Takeru could say for the majority of their group. They were crossing the bridge back onto the island almost fifteen minutes later before another word was spoken. Takeru was looking out the window towards the water, when he heard Iori take a breath from the driver's seat. "Just...no one's died, right? That's all I need to know."

"No," Takeru replied quietly and instantly. He could say that much, at least, to bring that peace to Iori's mind. However, the moment the word left his lips, he recognized them for the lie that they were. Someone had died. Someone small and helpless, who hadn't even had a chance to begin the life that was taken from them. Someone very few people had even known existed.

Someone, Takeru realized in a rush as his chest clenched tight at the mere thought of them, that he had been so much more attached to than he thought he had been. More than he thought he should be. More than he thought had any _right_ to be.

He had to clamp down hard on his emotions before he began to cry—he_ hated _doing that so much, yet after the events of this day, he didn't think anyone would blame him at this point. But even Iori wouldn't be able to keep his questions to himself if Takeru became a blubbering mess right here in the passenger's seat of his mother's car. "Okay. That's good," Iori murmured. Takeru could only nod in reply as he did not trust himself to speak. He wasn't sure he'd be able to keep the tears out of his voice.

Thankfully, it was less than ten minutes later that found them pulling up to the curb outside the apartment complex. "Thanks," Takeru threw out as quickly as possible, but he could hear how strained and cracked his voice sounded at the moment in only that one single word. He practically flew out of the car, knowing how rude he was being, and barely managing a nod to Iori's farewell. He walked quickly to the doors and made his way to the elevator. Once inside, Takeru sagged against the wall, grateful that he was the only one in there at the moment. It was a short ride to the fourth floor, where Hikari's apartment was located. With a jolt, he realized that he had never thought of it as his or even theirs. A month after moving in, it was still just hers.

The air of the apartment was quiet and still as he entered and closed the door softly behind him. He stood there at the door without moving, casting a quick glance around the apartment before closing his eyes with a sigh. Memories assaulted him of brighter days and welcoming smiles—never had he felt like a stranger in this place, even if he had never come to think of it as his own. But a surreal pressure of unbelonging pressed onto him as he opened his eyes and stepped further inside the place. He hadn't thought of anywhere else to go when Iori came to get him, but now all the sudden he couldn't wait to be anywhere else but here.

His steps quickened as he made his way to the bedroom, intent on grabbing his duffel bag and stuffing it full of of the nearest clothes he could get his hands on. However, Takeru came to an abrupt stop in the doorframe of the bedroom as the red-stained floor glared accusingly at him. The blood was clearly dry on the hard floor and only served as a reminder of all he had lost this night. As those thoughts assaulted him, he involuntarily lifted his eyes to the bed; it was still mussed and unkempt with the sheet crumpled on the floor beside it from when he had thrown it.

Takeru felt the burning in his eyes and pressed his palms into them to stop the tears as he breathed deeply to regain control. He shook his head as he realized he couldn't leave the room looking like this for Hikari or someone else to find. With that in mind, he left the room and headed back to the kitchen for cleaning supplies. A wet cloth in hand, he knelt onto the floor and began to scrub at the dark red spot on the floor.

He still couldn't believe all that had happened that day. Takeru had heard that hormones could throw a pregnant woman completely out of whack. Because he could only assume that had to be what had happened with her. Why else would she have pushed as she had or have said those things to him after losing the baby? Takeru sat back on his heels with another sigh, finished with what he could do about the stain. As his gaze fell once again onto the bed, he knew he should have put a stop to it sooner. He should have been stronger than that. When she kissed him and the rest that followed, he was surprised how much he wanted it; how much he wanted _her_.

A sound of grunted frustration rumbled in his chest as he came quickly to his feet and removed himself to the kitchen again to put the cleaning supplies away. He slammed the door to the cupboard shut a little harder than he meant to and pounded his palms against the edge of the counter. Takeru hated when he was alone and these thoughts could be allowed to surface. As quickly as he could, he went back into the bedroom and started to put the bed back together.

Takeru slowed as he set the pillows back in place; the final bit needed to finished making the bed. He fell still as he looked down at the smooth sheets. He gulped heavily as, in his mind's eye, he saw Hikari again as he'd seen her that afternoon. And he had just allowed to let it happen. Perhaps he'd known all along that he wouldn't have been able to hold back—Takeru had stopped touching her like he used to as he was terrified that his mind would too easily rationalize that she was his now. That he could too easily push her into something she didn't want. That he could just too easily realize he hadn't been as successful in his long ago decision as he always thought he had been.

Because touching Hikari again had seemed as natural and as necessary as breathing air. That had always been why he had done it so often before, he reasoned with himself as he tore himself away from the bed and moved on to start filling his bag. When he had touched her today, his emotions and body both had betrayed him by instantly reacting with such excitement and relief. And something else that he was still too afraid to admit even in the darkest recesses of his mind.

His task was soon completed as he locked that train of thought from continuing. Swinging the duffel bag over one shoulder, he gave one last look around the bedroom. His mind betrayed him once more as the traitorous thought of why couldn't he have just let himself be happy here flowed across. Again, he shut those thoughts out as he left the apartment as quickly as he could.

Really, there was only one place he could think to go. Only one place of refuge left for him.

* * *

><p><em>Tuesday, 11 June 1999<br>_

He had to get away from there. He didn't care where he was going as long as it was no longer in that place. His mother had called at him to stop, but he didn't want to listen to her at the moment. Not after what she had done.

He almost stopped when he heard his brother's voice ask where he was going. He loved his brother more than almost anyone in the world (there was only one other serious contender for that position), but he was angry. He was angry and sad and so upset that his brother would choose to leave him, too. So, he kept going. Going away from that place that had just ripped his family apart.

He didn't think his father said anything. He didn't expect him to. Recently, he'd accepted that from him. Perhaps it was better than the alternative. But sometimes, he wished his daddy would just say _something_.

In any case, no one had reacted fast enough to catch him and, soon, he lost himself in the crowds of the street. He vaguely knew where he was—it wasn't that far from their home...their _former_ home anyway. His mom had officially moved out with him and his brother in tow over a month ago now. The fact that he might be lost didn't matter at that moment; the only thing that mattered was that he wasn't there anymore.

"_Your divorce is finalized, Mr. and Mrs. Ishida."_

The words replayed painfully over and over his mind. They weren't a family anymore. How could this have happened?

Takeru stopped suddenly when he saw where he was.

* * *

><p><em>Yamato used to let Takeru crawl into bed with him when their mom and dad were yelling. Yamato would wrap his arms around him and reassure him that everything would be alright.<em>

_For the first time, Takeru found out that his brother could be wrong._

"_What are you doing, Mom?" Takeru found his mother in the room he shared with his brother. She was going through their drawers and piling clothes into a duffel bag. Yamato sat on the bed with his arms folded across his chest and a frown on his face. He was glaring at their mother with vivid anger in his eyes. Takeru shrank back, almost afraid of his brother in that moment._

_Natsuko didn't turn around when she answered. "We're going to stay at your grandma's for a while."_

_If it was possible, Yamato's look darkened even more. Takeru didn't understand—his brother usually didn't hate going to their grandparents' house. He didn't know what to do, so he just stood at the doorway until his mother zipped the bag up and stood up. "Come along, Yamato," she said. The older boy was clearly still unhappy as he hopped down from the bed. Natsuko handed the duffel bag to Yamato, who took it roughly from his mother to swing it over his shoulder._

_Natsuko moved away from her oldest son and picked up a small green backpack from the ground. She did not meet Takeru's gaze as she helped pull his bag over his shoulders. A dark, crushing feeling contracted in his chest. "Mom?" Takeru's voice was quiet and shaky. She finally looked into his eyes and gave him a shadowed smile. Even in his youth, Takeru did not miss the tears glistening in her eyes. "Mommy?"_

_Still, she did not answer him. His own eyes began to burn as well when he finally realized that this was not a normal trip to grandma's house. Quickly, he glanced over to his older brother—Yamato was now standing with his arms folded across his chest, his expression unchanged. His mother took him by the hand and led him out of the room, while Yamato followed sullenly behind them. Hiroaki Ishida stood outside the door, leaning against the hallway wall. Natsuko's suitcase rested next to him. She reached out and nearly ripped the suitcase away from the wall with her free hand. "Goodbye," she muttered at her husband, alarming Takeru with her harsh tone. Hiroaki said nothing in reply._

_As they started for the door, Takeru realized their father was not following them. "Dad's coming with us, right?" Panicked, Takeru glanced between the members of his family. None of them looked happy. None of them met his gaze. None of them answered his question. Natsuko pulled him almost roughly to the door again._

_But Takeru turned back and yelled, "Dad!" He didn't understand—Yamato always told him everything would be alright, so what was going on? Suddenly, Yamato took his other hand and pulled him back forward as his mom opened the door to leave._

_His father, once again, said nothing at all._

_Just before Natsuko shut the door behind them, Takeru glanced back once more at his silent, still father. The thought that he was about to never see his father ripped a scream from his throat._

"_Daddy!"_

* * *

><p>The park was not empty. Because summer break had not quite started, it wasn't as full as it would be in a month's time, but there weren't too many elementary age kids playing among the mothers with their small children. He wasn't surprised that he found himself here—sometimes he felt that for his whole life it would always come back to this park.<p>

As it was the closest thing to him, he made his way over to the swing set. A few of the seats were empty, but he didn't feel like hopping onto one. He pushed one of the empty seats back and forth a few times before he abandoned the endeavor. Takeru stepped away from the swings and wandered toward the sandbox.

There was a couple kids in it already, so he didn't actually go into the sandbox. Instead, he crouched down beside it and reached over the side with one hand. With a single finger, he idly drew nonsense shapes in the sand. Soon, he started to write the characters of his name. Defiantly, he wrote "Takeru Ishida", even though he knew, because of the choices his parents had made, his name was going to change to "Takeru Takaishi" like his mother.

His dad and Yamato were going to remain Ishidas. Because, after today, their family was broken. And Yamato had chosen to leave him and stay with their dad.

* * *

><p><em>Yamato was leaving him.<em>

"_I've decided to stay with Dad." His brother gave a sort of half chuckle that was part amusement with an underlying hint of anger. "Someone has to take care of him."_

_But Takeru, in his panic-stricken and hurt mind, did not necessarily hear that part of it. "So...we aren't going to be brothers anymore?" Tears appeared again in his eyes—much to his annoyance. He'd been crying too often lately._

_Quickly, Yamato crouched down as he placed his hands on Takeru's shoulders. His light blue eyes were serious as he pierced his little brother in his gaze. "We are always going to be brothers. No matter what. Do you understand me?"_

_Takeru nodded his head. The pounding in his head subsided somewhat as his panic began to ebb away. A quiet question left his lips before he could stop it. "Why can't we all just be together like before?"_

_A heavy sigh left Yamato's mouth as he straightened up. "We just...we just can't." A half-smile crested on his lips. "You've got to stay and protect Mom, okay? I'll come see you as much as I can."_

"_Okay." Still unhappy about the prospect of not living with his brother _and_ his father, Takeru knew that he didn't have much choice but to accept it. After all, it probably wouldn't be very fair to leave Dad all alone. And it was very true that their father needed someone to take care of him._

* * *

><p>"Takeru?"<p>

When he turned to the owner of the voice, he found it was Hikari, as he had expected. The girl came and crouched next to him, peering over the side of the sandbox to see what he had written. A few seconds later, she looked at him and asked, "What's wrong? You haven't been smiling as much as you used to."

Takeru took his whole hand and smoothed the sand over, erasing the name he had written there. He didn't meet Hikari's gaze as he quietly spoke. "My mom and dad got divorced today." The admission caused tears to burn in his eyes again, but he bit his lip to stop them from falling. He didn't want to be a crybaby. He hadn't told his friend before what was going on. She might have known because Yamato could have told Taichi, but Hikari hadn't ever given a sign that she knew.

"Oh." Hikari's reply was equally as quiet and told him nothing of whether she'd already known. Silence fell between the two friends as they simply sat by the sandbox and allowed the sounds of the playground to swirl around them.

"Do you think all people in love end up like this, Hikari?" Takeru's thought was voiced out loud almost before he processed it.

"I don't know, Takeru," Hikari replied.

Takeru dug his toes indignantly into the ground. "Well, I'm not taking the chance. I'm not going to ever fall in love with anybody." He didn't want to feel anything like this again. His family was broken with no way to fix it and he hated it.

Hikari accepted this with silence. He looked up at her and found her simply staring at him. He could tell that she felt bad for him. Suddenly, he remembered a time he was playing house with Hikari. Their brothers teased them about getting married for real one day. Takeru hadn't even minded it at the time. He loved his friend a lot and the thought of being with Hikari forever had sounded kind of fun.

But his mom and dad had loved each other. Now, they hated each other. What if that was what would happen to him and Hikari? How could he ever bear losing his best friend? How could he ever bear her leaving him like his mom left his dad?

Reaching out, Takeru gripped Hikari's shoulder. He could tell that he surprised her by his sudden movement, but he had to get out what he wanted to say. "You have to promise not to fall in love with me, Hikari. I don't want us to ever hate each other, so you have to promise."

Hikari's eyes were wide, but there was hardly a hesitation in her reply. "I promise, Takeru."


	18. Consolation Backfire

_Thursday, 12 December 2013_

It had been almost three weeks now since she had seen Takeru.

Some part of her had been disappointed when he didn't come to pick her up from the hospital. Hikari didn't know why she'd let herself feel that way, considering what she had said to him. It wasn't like she'd told him when she was being discharged, but a small irrational part of her thought he would just know anyway—that he would be standing outside the hospital with that smile she knew so well, ready to instantly forgive her for everything.

But that had only been a dream, and it had, in fact, been her brother who came to get her and take her home. She'd been in the hospital only three nights before they discharged her, with instructions to come back if any of the list of symptoms they gave her occurred. The doctors had kept her that long due to her miscarriage being so severe, but no additional complications had popped up, so they didn't feel the need to extend her stay. Hikari had been following all of their instructions to take it easy—for the first two weeks she'd only gone to the school and straight home. At work, which she'd only started up again on Monday, her employer complied with her request of keeping her with light tasks. Life was starting to return to normal.

Except for the fact that she hadn't seen Takeru. Since they started elementary school, they hadn't ever gone more than a few days without at least seeing each other, not including when things like family vacations got in the way. But they hadn't even walked by each other on campus, and, unfortunately, Hikari was nearly terrified to seek him out.

A heavy sigh blew out from her lips as she laid her head back on the arm of the couch she'd been leaning against. Hikari stared at the ceiling, absently trying to pick out shapes in the textures. She knew she should be doing something—homework, cleaning, even just reading a book—but she couldn't seem to find the will or strength to do anything but lay there on the couch. While she did tire easily these days since she lost the baby, Hikari knew this attitude currently came another source entirely.

It had been _three weeks_ since she had seen Takeru, the _very best_ friend she could have ever asked for (and still her husband at the moment), because she had told him that she _didn't want to see him anymore_.

When her eyes began to burn with tears, she laid her arm over them. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she could not stop the memory of that moment from playing in her mind.

_The first thing she could recall was the hushed voices. In the beginning, Hikari couldn't quite make out what they were saying through the buzzing fuzziness that was her mind, but she still recognized one of them. It was simply impossible for her to not know his voice. Hikari's eyelids felt heavy as she slowly pried them open._

"_Hikari," he called out, and then she heard his footsteps coming closer to her. Like his voice, there was no mistaking the sound. A warm, slightly calloused hand rubbed over the top of hers, and her eyes finally managed to fully open to see his face, full of relief and sadness. Hikari was confused and didn't quite understand why he was feeling that way, but then, she still wasn't quite sure where she was or how she had gotten there._

"_Mrs. Takaishi?" She only vaguely registered the other man behind him—the long white coat he wore gave him away as most likely a doctor. "Mrs. Takaishi?" the man repeated. Even then, it took her a few seconds to realize that he was talking to her. "Mrs. Takaishi" had always been Takeru's mother, and no one had ever addressed her that way before. At school, while they had changed the official records, she never thought to correct everybody as they still called her by her maiden name. It was hard to remind others of a name change she frequently forgot herself._

_After she acknowledged him and the doctor had her attention, the man soon descended into a myriad of nearly incomprehensible medical terminology in explanation of what had happened to her. Most of it, she didn't even care to try to glean the meaning of once she understood one thing— her baby was gone. Hikari could feel the blood draining from her face, but she continued to listen in somber silence, even if she didn't really hear most of the rest of what he said. She blankly answered the few questions the doctor posed to her._

_Once the doctor left, the nurses trailing along behind him, Hikari thought she was alone in the room until a warm hand on her cheek reminded her that she was not. She raised her eyes to his and saw his expression of concern as he looked at her. She felt a tear leave the corner of her eye, but Takeru's thumb brushed it away before it could get very far down her cheek. "Our baby is gone," Hikari whispered tonelessly._

"_Yeah," Takeru agreed slowly. Somehow, his confirmation made it seem more real than when the doctor or she had said the words. Because she knew she could lie to herself, but Takeru wouldn't ever lie to her. So, if he said it, it had to be the truth. A dark hole bore its way into her heart as she lifted her hand and pushed away Takeru's touch. She could tell just by his expression that she had shocked and confused him with this action. "Hikari, what…?"_

_But, suddenly, she was so angry and hurt that she simply didn't care. _Her baby was gone_. "Weren't you sorry? Didn't you regret it anyway?"_

_Takeru stilled completely as those words came darkly from her lips. His eyes widened a lot, and there was no mistaking the pained hurt in them. "I don't…" he almost choked out._

"_Before, after we…" she trailed off her clarification, but by the expression of realization that flashed across his face, Hikari could tell he knew what she was talking about. "You said you were sorry and regretted it." His jaw dropped—Hikari was sure that there was practically nothing that she could have said to hurt him more. She turned her head to stare at the opposite wall. "Aren't you lucky? There's nothing to tie us together anymore."_

_In the silence that followed, she could only hear his heavy breaths, as if he was struggling to breathe at all. "That's not what I…" Takeru finally struggled out. As he spoke, he laid a hand on her arm but fell silent again when she shrugged it off._

"_I don't want to see you anymore," she interrupted quietly._

_She felt him pull back a step. There was another moment of silence until he said, "Okay, Hikari…if that's…okay." Those unmistakable footsteps retreated away from her and the following sound of the door sliding open and then closed would haunt her nightmares in the days to come._

_Hikari sank into herself and sobbed until she fell asleep._

She flung her arm off her face as a few tears trailed down her cheeks. Her behavior towards him that day had been truly horrendous. The pain and hurt that she felt had been no excuse to treat her best friend like that. There was no explanation that could cover tearing out his heart, ripping it to shreds, and stomping on it for good measure, which was exactly what she had done.

The doorbell rang, and Hikari seriously considered ignoring whoever was at the door, as she couldn't quite muster the energy to get up and answer it. However, it rang twice more in quick succession. Since this probably meant whoever was at the door was going to be extremely persistent, Hikari sighed heavily and swung her legs off the couch. She came slowly to her feet, wincing only slightly as her abdomen ached a little in protest. About half-way to the door, her phone, which she had left on the couch cushion, began to ring, and the doorbell rang once more. Hikari left the phone for now in favor of answering the door first.

When she pulled it open, she found her three friends on the other side: Miyako with her finger posed above the doorbell, Mimi with her cell phone next to her ear, and Sora completed the set with her expression fixed into her trademark motherly concern. All three women brightened considerably upon seeing her. Mimi hung up her phone and set it back into her purse—Hikari noted distantly that she would probably have a missed call from her when her phone stopped ringing almost instantly after she did so.

Miyako straightened and gave her a glance up and down. "Geez, Hikari. Sora was right. You do look terrible."

"Miyako!" Sora and Mimi exclaimed hotly at the same time.

"What?" Miyako protested. She waved her hands up and down in Hikari's direction. "It's true, isn't it?" She linked her arm around Hikari's and pulled her back into the apartment. Hikari stumbled along behind her the best she could. "I feel like the utmost failure of a best friend," Miyako continued dramatically. "I've been neglecting you terribly and had no idea you were feeling so down until Sora told us."

"Yes," Mimi agreed as she linked with Hikari's other arm. "I hate to say it, but Miyako does have a point, dear. You have had better days, but that is why we are here!" she finished excitedly.

The two nearly pushed her back down onto the couch at that point. Hikari bit her lip tightly to contain the gasp as she ached again. "Why are you here?" she asked quietly.

"To cheer you up, of course," Miyako said and flopped down onto the couch next to her, as Mimi took a seat on the coffee table in front of her and crossed her legs, one over the other. Sora had followed into the room a bit more slowly, looking slightly apprehensive. As far as she knew, Sora was still the only one of the three who really knew what was going on. Hikari had managed to convince her brother and his wife not to mention to anyone else that she'd been in the hospital, let alone why. She trusted that Sora would have kept her word, but her sister-in-law had to have known how bad she was feeling. So, she wasn't surprised that she might have mentioned to the other two girls that she was just a little under the weather. It was the sort of mission Mimi and Miyako alike would have taken eagerly in stride.

The thought of her caring friends brought a small smile to her face. "Thank you," she murmured to which all her friends responded that it was really no problem.

Mimi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Where is Takeru? Is he here?"

She froze completely as panic flashed across her mind. Sharply, Hikari looked up when Sora laid her hand on Hikari's shoulder. The older woman, however, wasn't looking at her as she said, "He's at Yamato's. That was why I knew we could come today." Hikari ducked her head, grateful that Sora saved her from truly explaining why he wasn't here.

Clapping her hands together, Mimi exclaimed, "Perfect. Now, I won't have to send him on random errands to get rid of him for a few hours. We didn't want him here anyway." She began sifting through her bag.

Curious, Hikari asked, "So, what are we going to do?"

"Well, I brought this drama that was on last summer," Mimi said, distractedly. "I really liked it." Triumph spread on her face as she pulled the boxed set out.

Miyako snatched it out of her hands. "Perfect!" she cried. "I really want to see this one, but I was too into wedding plans to catch all the episodes. I heard it was so good, and the main guy is _so_ dreamy."

"So, we're all agreed?" Mimi asked. "Watch a couple of episodes and then go out for ice cream?" She received all nods in response. Hikari and Miyako shifted over, so Sora could slide onto the couch, as Mimi went to set the disc in the player.

Gently, Hikari moved her hand and placed it on Sora's knee. When her sister-in-law looked at her, she poured the gratitude she felt into her eyes. Sora smiled in understanding back and patted Hikari's hand on her knee. Nodding to herself, Hikari knew that she understood. When the two episodes of the drama were over, Hikari felt so much more normal, having laughed with her friends. As they got up to head out for ice cream, however, Mimi stopped them as she called out, "Wait, wait!" They all looked to the woman, who had a sort of almost secretive smile on her face. "I know Jyou would rather I probably didn't say anything yet, but I do know something that will cheer us all up." Mimi practically glowed as she announced, "I'm going to have a baby!"

Her knees buckled beneath her as Hikari sank back down onto the couch. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart pounded loudly in her ears.

"How exciting!" Miyako said, grabbing the brunette into a hug. "This is great. Now, your kids can grow up together and be the best of friends. And if its a boy and a girl, they could even get married!" When she noticed the others staring at her in shock, Miyako laughed sheepishly. "I'm probably getting a little ahead of myself, aren't I, Hikari?"

Mimi gasped. "Are you pregnant, too?"

Miyako clasped her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I forgot I wasn't…are you alright, Hikari?"

She had barely heard the conversation that had existed around her. She knew she should be happy for her friend, and some part of her was because Mimi was not to blame. But the fact remained that Mimi was going to have a baby and she was not. The tears burned hot trails down her cheeks as they fell. Her hand came up to cover her mouth as a sob caught in her throat. In an instant, a warm comforting embrace surrounded her. "I'm so sorry, Hikari. I didn't…" Sora whispered in her ear. Hikari's body racked with sobs as she cried into her sister's chest.

Cries of dismay came from the other two women. "What happened?" Miyako asked.

"She had a miscarriage three weeks ago," Sora said quietly.

Two different hands rested on her back as her other two friends offered their comfort. "I'm so sorry, Hikari," Mimi murmured. But a few seconds later, her hand suddenly stilled on Hikari's back. "Sora, how long has Takeru been at Yamato's?"

Hikari felt Sora pull slightly away from her, even though she did not leave her fully. "Mimi…"

"How long?"

It took another few seconds before Sora answered. "Three weeks."

Mimi's hand disappeared from her back and she heard the girl's footsteps heading for the door. "That's it. I'm going to go beat some sense into that boy…"

"No, no, no," Hikari cried, pushing Sora away so that she could speak. "It's not his fault. It's me. I sent him away."

Mimi had been about halfway to the front door when she stopped. Turning on her heel, she returned and sat back down on the coffee table, taking Hikari's hand. "Tell us everything. Start at the beginning."

Looking around at her three friends, Hikari felt that she could not keep everything to herself any longer. So, she did as Mimi requested. She started at the beginning, even if it wasn't the beginning they were probably expecting. "When we were eight…" From there, the whole story come out: the promise, their first kiss, what they had figured out had happened after Miyako's wedding, all the way to what she had said to him at the hospital.

After she was done, all four of them sat in silence until Mimi said, "You two have got to be the stupidest people on the planet."

The shock of the other three women was all expressed very differently. Hikari merely sat speechless, not quite sure what to do after having her kind of tragic love story called stupid. Sora looked absolutely scandalized as she cried out Mimi's name. Miyako's jaw dropped for a moment before she blurted out, "I know, right? Finally, someone else gets it."

"How can you guys say that?" Sora asked. "After all she's been through?"

Mimi was known for her bright, bubbly (and somewhat vain) personality and for always saying exactly what she thought. Even if she knew it would hurt those she said it to. All her friends knew, Hikari included, that she believed in telling the absolute truth as she saw it. So, when Hikari saw the tell tale set in her jaw and hard look in her eyes, she knew that was exactly what she was about to get. "That's why I am saying it. I'm tired of watching this. It was fine while they weren't really hurting each other, but this is too much. I can't and I won't let it stand like this. Hikari, you love him," she finished bluntly.

Denial, always the immediate reaction ran its course through her as she violently shook her head. "No, no, I can't…I _promised_…"

Reaching out, Mimi took Hikari's hands into her own and gently rubbed them. "When you were eight. Not the best age to be making absolute life decisions. Our hearts don't work like that, dear," she said gently. The emotions started coursing through her: the fear and disbelief that Mimi could see it, despite how much she thought she had hidden it. "I may not have known him as long as you have but watching you two together has become almost a habit of mine. Takeru _married_ you, Hikari. That means _something_."

"That was because of…" Hikari trailed off as she placed a hand against her stomach and grimaced.

Mimi shook her head. "No, Hikari. Or, at least, it wasn't the only reason. Because he married you before that on the night of Miyako's wedding. _Before_ you got pregnant, I might add. He did it because he loves you, too."

She wanted to deny it again, but the words caught in her throat before she could get them out. Faster and more potently than she could almost believe, a feeling rose within her at Mimi's assertion; a feeling she nearly didn't want to recognize as hope. Hope was dangerous—it could destroy her if she allowed herself to feel it too strongly when she knew very well how easily he would be able to crush it. But, it was like she had no control. The hope only brightened stronger with each passing second. The hope that was she was saying could be true because Mimi was always sincere in her words, for better or worse. "But…what if…" Hikari finally choked out.

The brunette's hands came to her cheeks and forced Hikari to look into her eyes. Mimi's warm brown gaze was full of compassion and empathy. "Don't let the fears of what might be ruin your chances for true happiness. Remember that he only left you because _you_ told him to go. I severely doubt he would have gone otherwise. At the moment, you've already lost him. Trying to get him back can't make it any worse."

"She's right," Miyako interjected. "You're already miserable."

A hand rested on her shoulder as Sora added, "Just talk to him. We hate seeing you like this, Hikari."

And she knew they were all right as her eyes dropped to the ground. She needed to accept her feelings; accept that she really had jumped off that cliff edge a long time ago and stop fooling herself that she was still dangling from the edge. She'd been falling for a while because how could she not have? Having him know could not possibly feel worse than the empty hole in her chest right now from not having him around. "I'll talk to him," Hikari whispered. "I'll tell him."

She only now had to figure out how.


	19. I Am Not My Father

_Sunday, 22 December 2013_

The coffee shop was quiet and dull as soft music played in the background. There were very few customers actually sitting and eating. Most hustled up to the register, bought what they wanted, and went their way. It wasn't anywhere near any sort of normal mealtime, which also contributed to the lack of full tables. In fact, other than Yamato himself, the blond man only saw three more people sitting in the shop, not counting the two employees behind the counter.

He'd ordered a cup of coffee, but it had long since gone cold. Yamato had taken a few sips of the drink when he first got it, but he hadn't really bought it to drink it. He'd mostly gotten it so that his hands wouldn't be idle as he waited. Slowly, he spun the spoon in the cup as he kept his eyes on the door. He was far too early, but with Takeru sleeping in late as he usually did on weekends, Yamato felt there was nothing for him to do but come wait for Taichi.

A month. For a whole entire month, Takeru had been living with him. And Yamato did not know how much more he could bear.

The fact that Takeru lived with him was not the problem. No, the problem was _how_ his brother was living with him. On the surface, Takeru might appear just fine to those who did not know him well. Yamato was not in that category. Currently, Takeru was living almost like life didn't matter anymore. While he'd gone to school and work, there was really no purpose to his actions. And the fact of the matter was that he did little else outside those two activities.

However, most alarming of all was, like those few months leading up to and after the Divorce, Takeru simply did not smile as much as he usually does. The ever present upturn of his lips had disappeared completely. And Yamato could not stand it.

* * *

><p><em>Yamato was not expecting anyone when a quiet knock on his door distracted his attention from the television program he was watching. As he hadn't really been watching the show that attentively, he clicked the television off and dropped the remote on the couch before he walked towards the front door. <em>

_He was certainly not expecting his younger brother to be standing on the other side of the door with a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder._

"_Hey," Takeru said. Yamato was immediately alarmed when his brother's voice sounded so small and shaky in that single word. And then, when his brother attempted to give him a smile and utterly failed, Yamato didn't even bother to ask what was wrong. He simply grabbed Takeru by the arm and pulled him into the room. At that point, the "what" of it didn't matter; the fact that there was a problem at all—and that it was clear for him to see—was enough for him. Yamato almost pulled him into a hug until he felt Takeru stiffen slightly and realized, for whatever reason, his brother did not want that at the moment._

_This was certainly not how he was expecting everything to turn out._

_Because he knew pressing Takeru would do no good—and might actually cause his brother to take longer in sharing what was going on—Yamato had no idea what to say. He settled for reaching out for the bag hanging on Takeru's shoulder. "I'll take this. Why don't you go sit down?"_

_It might have been an indication of how bad whatever happened was when Takeru didn't argue at all. He simply nodded his head and let Yamato take his bag as he headed for the couch. Yamato grimaced but took the bag into his bedroom. Just as he set it on the bed, his phone started to ring. When he fished it out of his pocket, he raised a single eyebrow when he saw that it was Sora. He doubted it was a coincidence._

"_Hello?"_

"_Is he there?" Sora sounded slightly frantic and definitely worried. Yamato frowned and looked out to where his brother was sitting. He didn't appear to have even noticed Yamato was on the phone, but this immediate response from Sora confirmed his suspicions. It was about Hikari._

_Yamato sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah...what happened?" he asked. He kept his voice quiet and turned back away from the door, so that Takeru wouldn't hear them. He barely bit back the bitter question of "What did she do to him?" He knew there was always two sides, but sometimes his older brother instincts just didn't particularly care._

_There was a pause before Sora answered. "He hasn't told you yet?"_

"_He only got here five seconds ago," Yamato replied, perhaps a little bit more tersely and sarcastically than he had meant._

_Sora breathed out a soft, "Oh." The tone of that single syllable made Yamato instantly worried and caused him to wonder exactly how long Takeru had been "missing". "I'd thought that he would've gone straight to you," she continued, sounding about as confused as Yamato now felt. "I wonder why he..." She trailed off her thought for a brief moment, but barely a second passed before she was speaking again. "I'm sorry. I wanted to make sure he was...okay." There was a minor pause before that last word as if she was searching for the right one to say. "I would've called earlier, especially had I known he _wasn't_ there, but we'd only _just_ finished talking to the doctor and..."_

"_Hold up, Sora," Yamato interrupted. "Doctor?"_

_Exasperatedly, Sora sighed. "This is so hard since you don't know," she muttered. Yamato opened his mouth to speak, but Sora cut him off. "And before you ask, it really would be better to come from him."_

"_I expect you're probably right," Yamato said heavily._

_Suddenly, he heard Taichi's voice in the background though he couldn't make out what he said. "Good point," Sora said in agreement to whatever her husband had said. "Yamato, it would be better if Takeru told you, but you should know what's going on regardless. If he doesn't tell you, call me and we will."_

_Yamato's eyebrows rose. The situation—whatever it was—would have to be quite serious for _Taichi_ to suggest interfering. The brothers had a strict policy about that. "Alright," he replied. Both of them quickly said good-bye before they hung up. Yamato stared at the phone for a moment rubbing his thumb idly across the smooth screen a few times. Suddenly, he thrust the device into his pocket and walked into the living room. He found that, while Takeru had taken his instruction to sit, he had chosen to sit on the floor in front of his couch rather than on the couch itself. It was a scene all too familiar for Yamato's liking._

_His brother looked up at him. "Was that Taichi?" he asked._

"_Sora," Yamato replied succinctly. Takeru nodded in acceptance, like he was expecting that. A thoughtful hum escaped Yamato's lips before he moved over to one of the chairs. He pushed it so that he was facing Takeru and took a seat on the floor in front of it, mimicking his brother._

_They sat in silence for a few long seconds. Yamato didn't know which questions to ask, and he was sort of waiting for Takeru to begin. But after awhile, he said slowly, "So, you want to tell—"_

"_Hikari was pregnant," Takeru interrupted suddenly._

_That thought took Yamato a few moments to wrap his mind around. He struggled for a reply as his mind whirled from such thoughts of "_They really don't do anything halfway, do they?_" and "_My little brother is going to be a _father_?!_" Meanwhile, Takeru wasn't even looking at him as he traced patterns on the floor with his finger. "Well, that sort of explains some things," Yamato finally managed to say. However, he grimaced as the words Takeru had said ran through his mind again. "Wait. 'Was'? As in not anymore?"_

_A simple nod was all Takeru's reply. A surge of sympathy and sadness rushed through Yamato at the loss of this child he had only just learned of; it was strange how quickly one can come to love something. The conversation with Sora—her panic and mention of a doctor—made more sense now._

_But something was still wrong about all this. Yamato frowned even further as he thought about it. If Hikari did have a miscarriage, she was probably at the hospital. It was clear that Taichi and Sora were with her, so what exactly was Takeru doing here? And why had Sora _expected_ him to be? Even if Taichi or Sora had convinced him to leave—_unlikely_—to rest or something, Takeru would have gone home and not here. What could have possibly caused Takeru to leave Hikari, especially at a time like this?_

_Yamato moved closer to his brother until he was on one knee before him and laid his hand on his shoulder. "Takeru, what is it? What happened?"_

_Takeru's finger stilled, but he did not speak for a minute. He didn't even look at him, but Yamato was determined to wait him out. "Have I been wrong this whole time, Yamato?" he finally said. He whispered the words so quietly that Yamato barely heard him. Though, it wasn't really an answer to his question, and Yamato didn't know exactly what Takeru was referring to. "She said she didn't want to see me anymore," Takeru admitted._

_This time, Yamato was quick to reply. "I'm sure she didn't mean it. With...everything, her emotions must be going crazy."_

"_I know. But I also know that she meant it. And I couldn't risk hurting her anymore."_

_Yamato sat back on his heels. He would not have expected any less in a situation like that. Not that he was happy about it, but he knew his brother would literally jump in front of a bullet for Hikari. However, he didn't think now was really the best time for a complete rundown of their...whatever they wanted to call it. So, he decided it was probably a good moment to change the subject completely. "You know you can stay here for as long as you like."_

_Takeru was silent as he nodded once. Yamato turned himself so that he was sitting beside his brother. He pulled one leg up so he could rest his arm across it. The brothers sat, brooding in their own unique silences._

* * *

><p>After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened and Yamato caught sight of the familiar brown spikes of his best friend. Taichi was shaking snow from his hair as his eyes began to scan the shop. Yamato looked out the window to see that it had indeed begun to snow, and he just hadn't noticed. He felt no need to call out to his friend, as he knew he would not be that hard to find.<p>

In moments, his attention was drawn away from the window again as he heard the chair across from his scrape along the floor. Taichi sat down and immediately reached out for the cup in Yamato's hand. A grimace plastered on his face the moment the liquid touched his lips. "Geez, how long have you been sitting here?" He set the cup back down and pushed it back in Yamato's direction. It rested in the center of the table, and Yamato left it there, not caring enough to pull it back to himself.

Instead of answering Taichi's question, Yamato simply remained silent. Though he'd been the one to call Taichi here, it was still somewhat of a struggle to admit he might have been wrong this whole time. Not to mention that he was trying really hard not to be angry at Taichi's sister. He knew she was not the only one to blame in this situation. His own brother was as much at fault, but big brother instincts were hard to fight.

"How is he?" In his typical blunt way, Taichi had no problem it seemed cutting right to the heart of the matter.

There were far too many ways to answer that question and none of them were pleasant. Rather than choose one, he settled on a shrug and a frown. Then, he shot Taichi's question right back at him. "How is she?"

"About the same," Taichi replied heavily.

Silence fell between them again. Yamato felt the muscles in his neck tighten as he clenched his hands into fists on the table. "I think I made a mistake," he admitted.

Taichi shook his head briefly. "I was right there along with you, buddy."

While true, Yamato knew it had been his idea in the first place. He sighed and forced himself to relax. "I know. And some part of me still thinks it was the right decision at the time. But, it's just so hard with both of them so..."

"Miserable," Taichi finished for him with a nod. "But what are we supposed to do? Force them together?"

Quickly, Yamato shook his head in response. "I don't think that's right, either. I'd really rather them work this out for themselves. But...at some point, enough has got to be enough. And we will have to talk to them."

"How long should we give them?"

Yamato shrugged again. "The end of the year?" he suggested.

His best friend nodded his head in agreement. "However, it will be hard for them to talk if they keep avoiding each other," Taichi muttered. "What they need is..." He trailed off as a bright look flashed across his face that Yamato recognized. Taichi thought he had a brilliant idea. Yamato thought that description was often up for interpretation. Sure enough, the next words out of his mouth were, "I have an idea."

* * *

><p>When Takeru shuffled off of the futon late into the morning, he found his brother not in their currently shared bedroom. Further searching of the apartment found him no brother, but there was a note hanging on the fridge from a magnet clip. He pulled it off, eyes perusing the familiar handwriting.<p>

_Went to see Taichi. Be back later. Mom called you. -Yamato_

He grimaced at that last line as he pulled open the fridge and pulled out the juice carton. He'd been sort of avoiding his mother since everything happened. Some part of him didn't want to face her because he was almost afraid that she'd indicate that she'd been right all along. It wouldn't be intentional, but Takeru knew his mother. He couldn't help but think that it would come out in some way.

Takeru shoved the carton back into the fridge after taking a long draught from it and slammed the door shut probably harder than he should have. Truthfully, he'd been avoiding _everyone_ and nearly _everything_ but Yamato since it happened. And, in a way, he was avoiding his brother as well. Since that first night, Takeru had only spoken to Yamato what was strictly necessary. It most likely was not helping that Yamato was stepping around him like he was about to shatter like broken glass. And that really hadn't bothered Takeru...until now. And now that he knew that, he knew he was ready to stop moping around and start fixing the problem.

Except that he had no idea where he should begin. Somehow, simply confronting Hikari didn't seem like exactly the right solution. His eyes fell upon the note from Yamato again. _Mom called_. The side of his mouth quirked down as a thought occurred to him that was nearly the complete opposite of the one he'd had when he first read the note. Perhaps his mother was really the place to start. He left the kitchen and went in search of his phone.

He soon found out that his mother had called because she had the day off and wanted to know if he would like to go out to lunch with her. She sounded surprised when he agreed—it was no wonder, really, with how he'd been treating everyone. The lunch started out normal enough, though Takeru was suspicious of his mother not commenting on his lacking responses. Natsuko also stayed on the neutral topics, only asking him about how he was doing in school and work. Takeru almost laughed, wondering if his mother was simply waiting for him to bring it up. Because she had to know, given that she hadn't even mentioned Hikari at all.

When she finished her lunch, she set her chopsticks to the side and leaned back in her seat. She folded her arms across her chest as she pierced him with her blue eyes. Takeru was again struck by how similar his mother and brother were to each other. He looked away from that gaze, even though he had been expecting her to say something. And it wasn't like he wanted to avoid the subject, since it was the reason he'd agreed to meet with his mother in the first place, but those ice blue eyes were more than he could handle at the moment.

"I heard about what happened," Natsuko said. "That you're not living with Hikari anymore." Still, he did not look up. He realized he came here quite unprepared, as he had no idea what to say. He wanted his mother's help, her advice, but was unsure how to go about it. "So, you want to tell me what happened?"

A sigh fell from his lips as his eyes lifted to look at Natsuko. And Takeru found relief in seeing the smile of understanding in her gaze. "It began when I was nine." And the whole story came rushing out, starting at the divorce and Hikari's promise and going right up to what happened at the hospital. To her credit, Natsuko didn't interrupt him, even as her emotions played across her face, even when a stricken look flashed when he was talking about the divorce and what happened because of it.

When he finished, his mother was tapping her fingers around her cup and staring down intently. Takeru let the silence be, waiting for his mother's reaction. "Do you hate us?" she finally asked without looking up.

His eyes widened because that was not what he was expecting. "No," he replied instantly.

Natsuko bit her lip before she said, "But...because of your father and me..."

Lifting a hand to silence her, he cut her off as he said, "It was never hate. Back then, I was upset and confused. I won't lie and say I'm not bitter about it sometimes, but hate was never really part of it. And even though the divorce may have started it, I should have ended this a long time ago." Takeru took in a deep breath before finishing. "But I don't know if I can anymore."

Because he realized what he'd known all along, if only he'd been calm and rational enough to think of it at the first. Hikari not wanting to see him wasn't about him at all. No, it was about her not wanting to be a burden to him, even though he'd told her time and time again that she never was. Admittedly, her emotions hadn't exactly been calm and rational at the time either. He remembered what she had said to him when they had told each other what was going on. That she wouldn't force him to be with her because of the baby. Clearly, Hikari had been trying to release him from this obligation she thought she'd forced him into, even as he'd never seen it that way. And if she didn't believe him about that, how was he ever going to manage to convince her of anything else?

"Takeru, listen to me." His mother broke through his thoughts, and he raised his eyes to her once more. "Don't let our mistakes stop you. By not moving forward, you are allowing the past you didn't want to happen again repeat itself." She laid her hand on his shoulder and pierced him with a solemn gaze. "You are not your father. And Hikari is not me."

Takeru dropped his head away from his mother for a moment as he ruffled his hands through his hair. Looking up, he finally asked the real question that was on his mind—the one he hadn't realized until now was the one he wanted to ask all along. "If you had known…in the beginning?"


	20. Did I Mention It's Christmas?

_Tuesday, 24 December 2013_

Yamato was always rather impressed what Taichi could do when he put his mind to it.

In less than two days, the man had formed a Christmas Eve party (all the while convincing Sora it was a good idea). Due to the late notice, a few of their friend wouldn't be able to make it, but Yamato figured Taichi didn't particularly care, all things considered. Perhaps _not caring_ wasn't exactly the correct term to use, but their other friends were merely a cover-up for the guests of honor: Takeru and Hikari, who _were_ coming. In fact, Yamato was surprised when Takeru agreed to come so easily. He had to know Hikari would be there. Yamato took this as a good sign. But, when they were all there, as he suspected would happen, Takeru and Hikari had barely looked at each other since arriving. He looked at Taichi, taking heart that he didn't look ill at ease.

"_Even if you get them there, how are you going to make sure they talk," Yamato asked._

_Taichi grinned. "Don't worry. I have a plan for that, too."_

While he trusted his best friend, he did tend to worry when Taichi didn't actually tell Yamato his plans. He was starting to wonder what Taichi had in store, when the man in question jumped up from his seat and said, "Who wants something to drink? Just holler out your order." He started listing out the things they had as he walked towards the kitchen. Everyone yelling their orders out soon followed.

"Are you sure you got all that?" Sora inquired worriedly, half-rising in her seat with her brows furrowed together.

"I got it. I got it," Taichi assured her flippantly from the other room. "Stay in your seat." Yamato smirked at the frown Sora gave towards the kitchen. Taichi did know his wife well enough it seemed. A few moments passed before, suddenly, an exclamation was heard, followed shortly by Taichi coming back into the living area.

This time, Sora rose fully from her seat, as she asked, "What is it, Taichi?"

"Completely forgot the plastic cups," he admitted with an embarrassed grin.

Sora's frowned deeply and she started to say, "But…"

Her husband on the other hand seemed not to hear her at all (or, more likely, was purposefully ignoring her) as Taichi turned to Hikari and spoke over his wife. "My darling sister, be a dear and run to the store for some, will you?"

Looking surprised at being addressed, Hikari nonetheless started to rise to her feet as she easily acquiesced, "Alright."

Daisuke, who was standing almost behind Taichi, piped up, "I'll go—"

Without looking, Taichi instantly threw his hand up behind himself and smacked it over Daisuke's mouth, effectively cutting off the rest of the younger man's sentence. Everyone looked confused at this action until Taichi said, "Takeru, why don't you go with her?"

The silence and tension were immediate and palpable. Yamato huffed in disbelief as he leaned back in his seat. He shook his head slightly as a smile crept into his lips. He hadn't expected that this would be Taichi's plan. But then again, Taichi was certainly not know for subtlety. While he could see everyone staring at Taichi in a sort of horrific disbelief (Taichi equally ignored all of them as he kept his attention on Takeru), Yamato's gaze remained on his younger brother, waiting to see his reaction.

At first, Takeru looked as surprised as everyone else. But then, he dropped his head for a moment. Yamato's brows furrowed together because he could have sworn he heard a soft, brief chuckle from Takeru. As his brother lifted his gaze again, Yamato felt his breath catch in his throat as he stilled.

Takeru was _smiling_.

It wasn't as full-blown or bright as it could have been, but it was the first real smile Yamato had seen on his brother since the miscarriage. All the smiles he'd seen from Takeru since that tim—and those had been few and far between—held an edge of sadness to them. But this smile was different: pure and genuine.

"Of course," Takeru said easily as he came to his feet. Yamato spared a glance at Hikari. She looked absolutely terrified as she stood stock still and waited for Takeru to approach her. Takeru held out a hand to Hikari as he said, "Come on." Yamato was pleased to note that there was no hesitation in her action to take his hand. Though still wide-eyed, she followed him easily when he pulled her towards the door. The silence remained as the sound of the couple putting on their coats flowed through the room. No one moved until they heard the door shut.

"Well, _that_ was subtle, Taichi," Sora bit out sarcastically.

He took her words with a giant, broad grin. "Wasn't trying to be. We haven't got time for that anymore." Taichi's infectious happiness relaxed the room, though still no one chose to be the first to speak after that for a moment. Daisuke mumbled something against Taichi's hand and poked his arm. Taichi whipped his hand up off Daisuke's mouth. "Oops. Sorry, Daisuke." He turned back to the group as he clapped his hands together. "Who wants something to drink?" he asked, repeating the question from earlier. "You're going to have to tell me again because I wasn't listening the first time."

"Didn't you just send those two for cups?" Jyou asked.

Taichi scoffed. "Please," he said, elongating the word. "I was lying. Sora did all the shopping. Of course, we have cups."

Yamato almost kept a hold on his emotions until he caught Sora's eye roll. He lifted his hand to cover the soft laugh that escaped him. Subtlety was _so_ not Taichi's strong point.

"So, this whole thing was a setup," Mimi asked. Taichi nodded. Another moment of silence passed until Mimi said, "I approve. I would like a diet soda."

Following Mimi's lead, everyone starting calling out what they wanted again. Yamato's thoughts turned inward and rested on the young couple outside, hoping deeply that they would come back happy.

* * *

><p>Things were quiet as Hikari followed Takeru down to street level. She avoided eye contact with him as she was very much aware that he had not let go of her hand, except for a few moments when she put on her coat. Once they left the building, Hikari tried to slip her hand out of his, figuring that he just hadn't noticed, but he surprised her by gripping tighter. Hikari lifted her eyes to meet his at last, but he was not looking at her. His gaze was fixated down the street, yet slowly—so much so that she knew it was deliberate—he adjusted their hands until their fingers were entwined together. Hikari felt her breath catch as he heart started to pound. She felt the hope rise in her that Takeru was just as much ready to fix this as she was.<p>

He tugged her hand slightly. "This way," he said.

However, Hikari instantly resisted and pointed in the opposite direction. "But the store is that way."

Takeru laughed softly, and a warmth filled Hikari despite the cold. He started walking in the direction he'd first indicated. This time, Hikari put up no resistance to follow him. "Your brother didn't send us out for cups," Takeru said. "I saw those in the kitchen when I arrived with Yamato."

"What?" Hikari exclaimed. But soon comprehension bloomed in her mind. "He's meddling." The only reply he gave to that was a nod. She frowned deeply in thought. "That's weird. He usually doesn't do that. Not since…" She trailed off when Takeru stopped at a bench. When he sat down, she followed willingly, even though she left about a foot of space between them. He finally released her hand as he leaned forward and rested his arms across his legs, intertwining his fingers together. Unsure of what to do with her hand now, she awkwardly played with her fingers in her lap for a brief few seconds before folding her arms loosely in front of her stomach.

Her anxiety was building and twisting her stomach into knots, but she wanted to wait for him to say something first. That and she had no idea what would come flying out her mouth at the moment if she opened it. And she was desperately hoping that he wanted to fix everything as much as she this point, she'd settle for becoming like they were before. Hikari hated that she wasn't able to talk to him. She'd known him pretty much as long as she could remember. Cutting Takeru out of her life would be like cutting out her family. Because he _was_ family to her, whatever their relationship was, even just friends. And perhaps this time, they could slowly move into something else.

"He doesn't want to see you sad anymore. And frankly, neither do I." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck slowly. Hikari bit her bottom lip and wrung her fingers together on her lap. She couldn't deny that it wasn't true. Though there had been moments, she hadn't been truly happy since the day she had found out she was pregnant. "And I know that has been mostly my fault."

Instant denial was on her lips but the words were stopped when Takeru's fingers brushed across her cheek, widening her eyes in surprise. His fingertips were cold against her skin, but she didn't think that had anything to do with the shiver she felt. He wasn't looking at her exactly in the eyes; rather, his eyes were just at the side of her face where his hand was. She desperately wished he would look at her so that she could glean something of what he was thinking. "Don't bother," he said. "I know it's not all because of me, but I was a big part of it."

And Hikari had to hold her tongue at that because it was true in a sense. Because how could she possibly be happy at all when Takeru was not? She wasn't sure when exactly she realized it, but she did now know that she'd let Takeru's almost apathetic attitude towards her and the baby these past months affect her. But how could it not? Even if all they were ever going to be were friends, how could she allow herself to be happy when her friends—any of them—were not? And that was so much more so with him—Takeru was the one she'd known the longest and the best of them all. Their lives were so entangled with each other that it was near impossible for something to affect one of them without the other.

"Do you remember when we kissed back in middle school?"

The question came out of nowhere, blindsiding Hikari's thoughts. Takeru's eyes were on her own now as his hand moved away from her face and dropped back to his side. She found out she was wrong; she knew no more of his thoughts than she did without seeing his eyes. He was still hiding from her, and she did not like that. Hikari was done hiding, even if she hadn't quite plucked up the courage yet to blurt out the words, but she decided to see where Takeru was going with that. So, she answered hesitantly, "Yes." She didn't remember the exact date (it had been sometime in the middle or end of February their third year), but it was unlikely that she would ever forget that moment when he first kissed her. If it hadn't been for that _stupid_ promise, Hikari was pretty sure that would have been the exact moment she would have started to fall in love with him. A smile tugged at her lips at that thought. It probably was anyway.

Takeru turned away and rested his arms wide on the back of the bench. "Back then, I…" There was a slight pause before he continued to speak. "Well, I won't say I was in love with you because I don't think I _really_ was, but I liked you a lot." His head dropped back onto the bench so that he was looking at the sky. The side of his lips twitched in what could have been the beginnings of a smile, but it was gone before Hikari could decipher it. "More than just friends probably should. Enough that I probably _could_ have fallen in love with you very easily, if I had let myself."

Other than to take in a sharp breath, Hikari was silent as she listened. Her jaw dropped, leaving her mouth gaping slightly open. She'd had no idea that was what was going on of that he had felt that way. Quickly, she went through what she remembered of that day, as she bit her lip again and glanced away. With this new information, some of Takeru's responses suddenly made so much more sense. "Takeru, I…I didn't…" She struggled to come up with the words, but he cut her off with a shake of his head as he turned to look at her again. This time she could read the understanding in his expression.

"I know," Takeru said. "I did all I could make sure you _didn't_ realize it. I was content with how things were at the time." His arms came down, and he folded them across his chest as his eyes fell to the ground in front of him this time. From what she could see, Hikari thought his expression might be shuttered again. "But that day we kissed…that was the day everything changed."

She could feel her heart starting to pound in her chest. "What do you mean?" She spoke in a quiet, near breathless whisper.

Unsure whether or not he heard her question, she nonetheless remained quiet again as he spoke, if only because she found herself speechless once more. "About a month before that day, Taichi actually asked me when I was going to start dating you, so that he could retire the baseball bat for good."

While she found this topic about as random as the rest of the conversation, Hikari was unable to stop the eyeroll at the thought of that baseball bat Taichi had used to threaten anyone who tried to date her before high school. Suddenly, she stopped short as she realized what Takeru had actually said. "He did?" she asked as she blinked in surprise. "You mean, he knew that you liked me?"

Takeru shook his head. "I don't think so. At the time, only Yamato knew about my feelings for you. He might have suspected or at least was just hoping we would get together." Hikari nodded thoughtfully in agreement. It wasn't like she didn't know that was the wish of nearly _everyone_ close to them. "But I just told him the same thing we told everyone."

"That we didn't see each other like that," Hikari interjected tiredly. "Why did you say that? If you did like me?"

There was silence again for a moment as Hikari gazed at her best friend expectantly. While he was still not looking at her, his gaze had lifted from the ground again. Finally, he shrugged and said, "It didn't matter at that point. Yamato was the one who suggested I should date other girls besides you, but I think it would have come to that anyway. I didn't want to ask you out."

The pounding of her heart ceased as a pain stabbed through it. "Why not?" Hikari managed to say. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I would have said no." Even though she hadn't thought of those words until she said them, Hikari knew they were true. It was one thing to break her promise to him, but the moment Takeru would have stepped over the line, she was sure she would have leapt after him. It was what they had always done; she had always followed him, just as he followed her.

His response was quiet. "You know why." And, of course, she did. When it came to relationships and Takeru, it always came back to The Divorce. "But even then, I think I wouldn't have let that stop me eventually. Some part of me believed that you would choose me just like I had chosen you. I figured that you had some feelings for me deep inside you, but that you'd just been denying them because of that promise you made to me. I felt that I probably would have only had to wait, in the end."

"I'm not sure I understand," Hikari admitted. She felt like Takeru was trying to get to a point, but she wasn't sure what all these different things had to do with each other. Now that she knew that he used to like her, all she really needed at the moment was to know if he still did. "What does this have to do with when we kissed?" she asked. While that _was_ all she needed to know, she felt that Takeru wouldn't be telling her all this if he didn't have some reason.

A low chuckle came from the man beside her. "It's stupid, but I was so sure that when you asked me to kiss you, you wouldn't have done that so casually if you had any serious feelings for me." For a brief moment, she saw that same pain in his eyes from that day so many years ago. He took one of her hands into his own and started brushing her palm with his fingertips. His hands were warmer than hers—she hadn't really thought to put on anything else except her coat since she assumed that they really were just running to the convenience store.

Takeru's hands caused a warmth to spread in her chest. He hadn't moved his gaze from hers, and Hikari almost dared not to breathe. "And I thought about not doing it—about just making some joke about how you called the girls I'd gone out with bimbos—because I knew…" As he took a deep breath, he grasped her other hand now as well. When he continued to speak, his gaze was on their enjoined hands. "I _knew_ it would hurt me, knowing it wouldn't mean as much to you."

"But…you did it," Hikari said. Her shoulders drooped as she thought about all that pain she'd put her best friend through. All the sudden, guilt ate at her heart as a sinking feeling dropped it down to her stomach. "Why?"

Her hands felt extremely cold as Takeru slipped them out of his grasp. Once again, he turned away from her, but she saw him swallow deeply as he nodded. "Because, at that moment, the thought of someone else kissing you before I did hurt so much more. And then, when you kissed me back, I felt this tiny sliver of hope that maybe you'd finally realized you had feelings for me."

Tears burned in Hikari's eyes as Takeru relayed the experience. She wished she'd known this from the beginning; Hikari had no idea just how ignorant of his feelings she'd been. She felt like a failure of a best friend. "Takeru…" she whispered, but was unable to choke out the rest of the apology.

Again, she didn't know if he'd heard her or not when he shook his head. "And you acted like nothing had happened when your mom interrupted us—and it all just hurt too much."

The tears that had been threatening and burning started to fall at the pain in his voice. She lifted her hands to wipe them away, as she quickly said, "I knew. I saw the pain in your eyes that day and I knew I had hurt you, though I didn't know why. I was going to apologize the next day, but when you acted like you normally did, I thought I had just imagined it."

Takeru was quiet for a moment before he finally said, "That day we kissed…that was the day I decided to stop loving you."


	21. Heroic BSOD

_Thursday, 22 February 2007_

Yamato put the key in the lock and started to turn it, but he was surprised to find that the door was already unlocked. He hadn't expected that either his mother or Takeru would have come home yet. He had offered to cook them dinner that night as his father was out of town at the moment on assignment. His mom had protested at first, telling him that she would cook, but Yamato had insisted. He got a call earlier from his mother telling him that she would be a little late coming home from work, so he knew she wouldn't have been home when he arrived. And Takeru was usually still over at the Yagami apartment at this time of day. Yamato had planned on arriving before either of them to get dinner started, but apparently one of them was home as both of them were usually very careful about locking the door when it was empty.

He opened the door and found a completely darkened apartment waiting for him. None of the lights were on and the curtains were still pulled in front of the windows and the glass doors that lead to the balcony. Only the tiniest amount of light was making its way into the apartment, making just barely enough light to see. He shut the door behind himself with furrowed brows, confused and wondering if there was actually anyone here. "Hello?" he called out into the apartment, but there was no answer. Cautiously, he walked further into the apartment, but he still met with no one.

Just as he was about to chalk it up to either his mom or Takeru just forgetting to lock the door and were just really lucky that no one broke into the apartment, something caught his eye as he looked around the living room through the dark. Someone was sitting against the couch, absolutely still in the silence and darkness. As he got closer, he recognized that it was his brother, who was uncharacteristically sitting and staring at the opposite wall blankly. "Takeru? What are you doing sitting in the dark?" Yamato asked as he approached him and put his hand on his brother's shoulder—inciting no reaction. Startled panic rushed through him as he studied his brother more closely, noting that he had _never_ seen Takeru's eyes look so empty before. Quickly, he gripped Takeru's other shoulder and pulled him around to face him. "Takeru, are you alright?"

Takeru looked at him, but Yamato had the distinct sense that he wasn't seeing him at all. "I kissed Hikari," he said in an indifferent tone of voice. But those were words that Yamato was very much aware that in no way was Takeru apathetic towards them. His brother had been having feelings for Hikari for a long time—starting with a simple crush and slowly evolving with time into something more. Yamato knew that Takeru was aware of his feelings, but sometimes he wondered if his brother really knew the depth of them, having pushed them away for so long.

Yamato let him go and sat down opposite him, leaning his back against the coffee table. "That's great…right?" he asked uncertainly.

There was a smile on Takeru's face now, but it was hollow and held none of his normal warmth. "You would think," he said vacantly.

Yamato was really worried about him now. He'd never seen his brother like this—not when their parents separated or the day their father took Yamato away. "What happened? Did she reject you? Are you not friends anymore?"

"No, we're still friends," Takeru said as his finger idly traced the patterns of the rug. "That's the whole problem." He turned his gaze away, but Yamato caught the pain that now filled his gaze—it sliced right through his heart and made him want to give anything to protect his brother from ever looking like that again. "She doesn't feel the same way about me, Yamato. She never did and I'm not sure she ever will. And it just…hurts…and I don't…" he finished brokenly with his voice choking up as he clenched the fabric of the front of his shirt tightly in his hands.

Confused and knowing he wasn't getting the full story (and possibly never would), Yamato didn't know what to say or do that could possibly comfort his brother. In some ways, Takeru's whole life—his entire world—revolved around Hikari. Whatever she needed…whatever she wanted, Takeru would go to her instantly and do his best to see that it was done. Yamato knew that he would _literally_ protect her to the death, but right now, that same girl seemed to be ripping him apart at the seams. "You can't keep living like this," Yamato said. "I've told you before—you're too young to be dealing with all this crap. That's why I told you to go out with other girls."

"I know," Takeru said quietly. "I just always thought…" He shook his head slightly. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I decided that I'm going to stop loving her."

Yamato's eyes widened in surprise as he said, "I didn't mean that, Takeru—it's not the end of the world. You're only fifteen. There's still time for her to feel the same for you. And I'm not sure it works like that. I don't think you just stop loving people."

"They say love's a choice, right? Well, I'm choosing not to love. It's what Mom and Dad did, isn't it?" Takeru said back in that hollow and empty tone. "I can't be around her and not be with her anymore like this. But I can't lose her—I think that would hurt worse. So, from now on, I chose to be her best friend and to love her like a sister, because it's the only thing I can think to do."

Yamato felt something inside him clench tight as he watched his brother say this, feeling so much older than his own eighteen years. Takeru looked so defeated, like life meant nothing anymore and he felt a sudden irrational anger towards Hikari, even though he _knew_ in his mind that it wasn't really her fault that she didn't have the same feelings as his brother. But his heart couldn't bear to see Takeru in this state and wanted to lash out at the person who was the cause of his pain.

He reached out and pulled Takeru into an embrace—the only thing he could think to do. For the first few moments, Takeru tensed up, but then he relaxed and gripped onto Yamato. There weren't any physical tears, but somehow, Yamato felt that his brother was definitely crying all the same. Yamato could think of no words that wouldn't sound like empty comfort, so he just held onto his brother, letting him know that he would be here for him no matter what. After another minute, Takeru relaxed out of the embrace and gave a smile—one much closer to normal—to Yamato. "Thanks," he said. In an obvious attempt to change the subject, Takeru pushed himself to his feet and asked, "So, what's for dinner? Anything I can do to help?"

As Yamato followed his little brother to the kitchen, his shoulders drooped and, with a sudden clarity, he knew exactly what it was that he had to do.

* * *

><p><em>Friday, 23 February 2007<em>

"Taichi, are you busy after school?"

Taichi cut his conversation off with one of his soccer buddies to look at Yamato. He was surprised to see the blonde boy—while they were still best friends (which seemed to confuse their other friends sometimes—those that weren't part of their core group at least; no outsiders understood that), they weren't in the same class this year so it wasn't often that they saw each except at lunch. He'd noticed that Yamato had seemed extremely distracted at lunch, but, while he and Sora had traded a glance over it, both of them knew better than to try to push an answer out of the boy.

Now, here he was in Taichi's classroom at the final break of the day before their last class, and he was looking about as serious as Taichi had ever seen him. His face was creased in worry and somehow it seemed like, even though he was talking to Taichi, Yamato wasn't really looking at him. Taichi's lips turned downward in thought and concern about his friend about whatever was bothering him. He ran through his afternoon quickly, realized that there was, that he knew of, no practice today or plans with Sora. "No, why?" he finally answered.

A sigh escaped Yamato as he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. His brows furrowed even further together as his gaze dropped to the ground for a moment. "There's just...something I need to talk to you about," Yamato said slowly.

"Trouble in paradise, Taichi?" one of the other boys teased as he nudged Taichi with his elbow. His other teammates roared with laughter, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yamato rolling his eyes at them.

Taichi shoved the other boy in the shoulder as he muttered, "Shut up." He came to his feet and pulled Yamato along by the elbow to the back of the room, where it was a little more secluded. Taichi pushed one of the chairs back from a desk in the back row as he hopped up to sit on the desk and propped his feet on the back of the chair. He rested his elbows on his knees as he asked, "What's up?"

Shooting a glare over Taichi's shoulder at his soccer teammates (the ones in his class at least), Yamato muttered briskly, "I'd really rather not talk about it here." He sighed again as he ran a hand through his hair. "Look. Can I just come over to your place after school or not?"

The reply was immediately falling from Taichi's mouth. "You know you're always welcome," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Yamato's answering nod was more than just a little preoccupied. Seeing this, Taichi continued almost hesitantly, "So...I'll see you at the gate?"

"Yeah...thanks," Yamato replied before he gave one last nod to Taichi and walked out of the room back to his own class presumably. Taichi watched him go until he was gone and out of sight. Shaking his head resignedly, he stood back up and went to rejoin his soccer buddies but found himself unable to rejoin the conversation with the same vigor as his thoughts lingered on what his best friend wanted to talk to him about. All through the last class, his eyes keep trailing to the clock on the wall, and he was pretty such he didn't even hear ten percent of what the teacher talked about. When the bell rang to dismiss classes that afternoon, Taichi was the first to shoot out of his chair and made a beeline for the gate, where he had to wait a few impatient minutes for his friend to arrive. Yamato's steps were almost slow and heavy as he joined Taichi at the gate, and they silently started walking towards Taichi's apartment.

The walk home was unsurprisingly quiet. The few times that Taichi tried to engage Yamato into conversation he was met with little more than one or two word answers. Eventually, he gave up, simply because he knew what his best friend was like when he was in a mood like this, and there really wasn't much he could do to change it. Taichi turned the key in the lock and led the way into the apartment. "Is Hikari here?" Yamato asked as he slipped out of his shoes.

Taichi glanced down and found his sister's shoes not among those on the rack. "No. Did you need her?"

Yamato shook his head. "I didn't want her to be here." Taichi's eyebrows lifted in surprise at that answer, but he chose not to comment on it. He knew any attempt for clarification at this point would be most likely met, at best, with a sharp glare.

They walked into Taichi's room where Taichi sat on the bed. Yamato pulled out the desk chair and sat down on it. He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. His brows furrowed together and he pursed his lips tight. In terms of Yamato, Taichi could tell this all meant he was clearly upset about something. Taichi immediately tried to think of anything that could possibly be wrong since Yamato had been completely fine yesterday—he didn't _think_ it was anything _he'd_ done. When a few long moments of silence passed, Taichi's impatience caught up with him and he asked, "What's wrong, Yamato?"

There were a few moments of silence before he answered, "Where's that baseball bat that you have?" Not expecting that question, Taichi's eyes widened in surprise. Nevertheless, he went over to his closet and pulled out the requested item. He handed it over to Yamato before retaking his seat on the bed. Yamato ran his hands along the wood, silent once more. "You bought this to scare away boys dating Hikari, right?" he finally asked.

"Yep," Taichi said with a grin. "Just until the right boy comes along."

Yamato looked up sharply at him, and Taichi almost flinched under his calculating gaze. "Taichi, what I want to say—what I _need_ to say—you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even Sora and especially not Hikari."

Taichi was almost alarmed now at the tone of voice that Yamato was using. "Yamato, what is it?" he breathed, finding himself almost afraid now to hear what his best friend had to say.

But it seemed that Yamato was not about to let that point go. "Promise me, Taichi," he repeated earnestly.

"I promise."

Yamato's expression turned slightly relieved and he handed the bat back to Taichi as he said, "It's time to get rid of this."

Taichi slowly took the bat back as he lifted an eyebrow in confusion. The conversation wasn't taking any direction that he'd expected it to and was making about much sense to him as rocket science. They'd never actually talked about it, but Taichi had always assumed Yamato wanted Takeru to end up with Hikari as much as Taichi wanted Hikari with Takeru. Figuring now was as good a time as ever to get it all out in the open, Taichi began to explain this with, "Yamato, I bought this—"

But his friend interrupted him with the words, "Takeru likes Hikari."

Taichi could feel the triumphant grin—he just _knew _it—beginning to pull his lips up, but it did not get a chance to fully blossom before he realized that Yamato was not as happy about this as Taichi had expected him to be. If anything, he looked even more upset than he had before. "That's not a good thing?" Taichi asked with a sort of awkward laugh.

Yamato ran a hand through his hair as he let out a disgruntled sigh. "I'm not explaining this well," he muttered to the ground, just barely loud enough for Taichi to hear. He looked back up at Taichi as he said, "I've known for a while that he likes her. He didn't know what to do when he started getting upset about Hikari dating other boys, so I told him not to worry about it and just to date other girls himself. I figured they had plenty of time to work it out later since they're just kids. I figured Hikari really liked Takeru and just hadn't realized it."

"She does. I know she does." Taichi's reply was quick and instantaneous. But this whole conversation was causing a nagging doubt to blossom inside him. Was it possible that Yamato knew something that Taichi didn't?

"Did she tell you this?" Yamato asked, and Taichi remained silent as that cut to the heart of the matter really quick. Hikari never _had_ told him (in fact, she vehemently denied it if he even remotely suggested the possibility). But Taichi had always _hoped_... Yamato shrugged. "Maybe she does, but I don't know anymore. I don't know the whole story, but all I know is that, yesterday, they kissed each other and nothing has changed between them."

"They what?!" Taichi exclaimed, quite suddenly (and irrationally) not as fond of Yamato's little brother in that very moment. Just because he understood that his sister being together with Takeru meant those sorts of things that _did not_ mean he really wanted to hear (or even _think_) about it.

There was simply, however, just another dismissal shrug from Yamato as if he hadn't even heard the tone of voice that Taichi had used. "Like I said, I don't know the whole story. But _nothing changed_, Taichi," Yamato said as he placed heavy emphasis on those words. "Don't you get it?" he asked as his eyes were shining pleadingly at Taichi.

And suddenly, Taichi did. He understood completely what that meant—either Hikari didn't understand herself her own feelings and what they meant or she truly didn't actually like Takeru as anything more than a friend. Taichi was hopeful it was the first option, but there was no way to know for sure, even if they asked Hikari herself. He also understood why Yamato was so upset. "How's Takeru?" Taichi asked quietly.

"He's…" Yamato began to say, but then he let out a sound of frustration as he stood up and started to pace. "He's heartbroken, Taichi," he said sadly. "And you know I love Hikari like she was my own sister, and I can honestly say that I would be ecstatically happy if eventually she actually _became_ my sister, but I can't…" He stopped pacing and ran his hands through his hair. "I never want to see my brother like that again," he finished. "And that's why you have to get rid of the bat."

Taichi looked down at the object in question, still resting in his hands—he had completely forgotten about it. "You want us to let them go," Taichi said in wonder.

Yamato nodded. "He's decided to stop loving her, but I don't know if that's even possible," Yamato said briskly. "But I'm determined to let him try. We can't involve ourselves in their relationship. No more playful hints. No more pushing them together. If it happens…" he trailed off with a shrug.

His mind struggled with the thoughts of letting his sister go—Taichi had a hard time letting go with the little things, and he just didn't see how he could possibly leave her alone with what might the most important decision of her life—but he found himself nodding in agreement with Yamato. "All right," he conceded. "We'll do it your way. No matter what happens, we'll stay out of it. It's a promise," he finished as he stood and held his hand out.

Yamato clasped Taichi's hand back as they sealed the promise. "Thank you," Yamato breathed. His shoulders sagged in relief as if Taichi had lifted this heavy burden from him—and perhaps he had.


	22. You Can't Fight Fate

_Tuesday, 24 December 2013_

There was nothing Hikari could think to say to that. Her mouth gaped open, and she stared at Takeru in wide-eyed shock, which caused her tears to cease to fall. He wasn't looking at her—his blue eyes were focused on some unseen point in front of himself again. After a few moments, she realized that she wasn't breathing, but that did not help her to actually do it. Panic—blinding and uncontrollable—was flooding through her mind and body. She couldn't believe that just when she had finally decided not to block out those feelings, she learned that she had lost her chance even before she'd known she had one. How could breathing compare to losing the man that could have been—no, _should_ have been—the love of her life, if only she had let herself see it?

A mirthless chuckle escaped him as Takeru's head dipped down. Clearly, he hadn't noticed her reaction yet. Takeru wouldn't leave her like this, no matter what. But then, his next words made her breathless for an entirely different reason. "Of course, it's only come to my attention recently how much I failed at it."

Shock flowed through her again, but now there were completely different emotions behind it: relief and just a little bit of hope. If she understood his words correctly, if he meant that he had _failed_ in his decision to not love her, did that truly mean she hadn't lost her chance after all?

Hikari sucked in a huge, shaky breath that came out again as a sob. Unable to help herself, she began to cry once more from the wealth of conflicting emotions running through her. She buried her face in her hands, so she didn't notice Takeru had gotten up from the bench until he spoke in front of her. "I'm sorry, Hikari. I don't want you to-"

She violently shook her head from side to side as she peeked out from behind her hands. Takeru was crouching in front of her with a concerned look on his face. She didn't want him to misunderstand her tears, which were more from relief than anything else. "That's no…" she started to say before a shuddering breath cut off her words. Sniffing, she tried to regain control as she said, "Is it really okay? Is it really okay for me to love you?"

In answer, Takeru blessed her with that soft, bright smile she finally realized was—and always had been—exclusively for her. "I'm in love you, Hikari," he said. "I have been for a long time now, and I'm done pretending that I'm not."

Unable to answer with words, Hikari did the only thing she felt could convey what she was feeling. She leaned down to capture Takeru's lips with her own. Takeru was prepared for her kiss as he met her nearly halfway. The kiss was short and sweet—a sealing of their newly revealed feelings for each other. When they parted, Takeru was showing her that special smile again, even brighter than it had been before. Hikari let out a small giggle of happiness, covering her mouth with her hand. His hands came up to cup her face, and he rubbed his thumbs across her cheek, wiping away the tearstains that still rested there. "I love you, Takeru," she whispered. Though the words themselves were soft, they were full of every ounce of feelings she had inside herself.

Takeru gave her the exact same answer that she had given him. The second kiss lasted longer than the first, and it only ended when Takeru stood up, lifting her into his arms. She laughed joyously as he spun her around once. When he set her on the ground, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment before he kissed her for the third time. Hikari allowed the bliss to rush through her for a minute, but then she pulled away as a thought crossed her mind. She hated to ruin this moment, but she had to say this. "I'm sorry about our baby." She rested her hands on his arms as she whispered the words mournfully.

A flash of pain and sorrow crossed his eyes. Takeru pulled her into his chest as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. Her body warmed as she could feel the comfort and reassurance he was giving her. "It's okay," he said, quietly in her ear. "There will be others."

It took a long moment for those words to sink in, but Hikari drew sharply back from him as she realized what he'd said. "What?" Her breath caught in her throat and she found herself breathless for the upteenth time that night. Did he really just imply that he was expecting to have children with her? Did that mean he just wanted to stay married to her? Hikari wondered if she was jumping to conclusions a bit, but she did not know what else those words could mean.

With one arm still tightly wrapped around her, Takeru stopped her train of thought as he reached into his coat pocket. "It's a good thing I brought it with me. I know it's a little late coming anyway." She didn't know what he was talking about until she felt him slipping something onto her finger. Her _left_ ring finger, she realized with a gasp as she covered her mouth with her other hand. Hikari raised her hand to look at the ring—there was no diamond, but rather a stone that looked white at first glance. Hikari thought it was a pearl until she saw the rainbow colors swirling in the white and recognized it as an opal. "I remembered that you said you liked them."

Tears once again gathered in her eyes as she found herself unable to reply. She merely nodded her head and rested her head against his chest. He had one hand wrapped around her waist with the other in her hair on the back of her head. Hikari smiled when he rested his chin against the top of her head as she nestled into his neck. "Come home with me tonight," she finally whispered after a few long minutes of just standing and letting him hold her.

"Of course," Takeru replied as he pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head. He held her for another minute before his hand slipped down through her hair and dropped to grasp her hand. He entwined their fingers together, causing Hikari's face to split into a wide grin as her toes curled in her shoes. She didn't think anything anymore could possibly break her happiness tonight. "Let's go," he said as he tugged her back towards her brother's home.

Hikari followed him instantly, resting her head slightly against his arm as they walked. "Are we going back now?" she asked, only sort of regretting that her time alone with him was dwindling for time being until they could go to their own home again. She fretted a brief moment about what they should say to everyone when they got back.

Judging from the atmosphere when they left, everyone was expecting _something_ to have happened between them. And while she knew that they would all be ecstatic to know she and Takeru had worked things out, she didn't feel that simply blurting out that they were still married and that's the way it was going to stay was exactly the way to go. Nor was confessing their undying love to each other in the middle of the room or something. She looked up at her beloved husband (there was absolutely no stopping the excited smile that blossomed on her face at that thought) to ask his opinion when she noticed his expression.

It was a grin she knew well. Takeru had just thought of a way to tease someone to his immense enjoyment (and usually to hers as well). "No, we have to go buy cups," he said unexpectedly.

Her bottom lip jutted out as her eyebrows scrunched together. "But, I thought Taichi didn't really need them," she protested mildly.

"He doesn't," Takeru confirmed nonchalantly. His grinning face turned to her as he added, "You didn't think I was going to make it that easy on your brother, did you?" And as Takeru disclosed his idea to her, she couldn't help but think it was the perfect way to let everyone know, not to mention that it would be extremely fun to finally be on the other end of the teasing when it came to their relationship.

* * *

><p>It was, of course, Mimi who noticed it first.<p>

The party continued on without the missing couple. However, Sora was being a much better host than Taichi at the moment. He was starting to get a little worried with how long the two had been gone, despite the fact that he felt the long time they've been gone was a good thing. As he looked at the door for the fourteenth time that minute, Yamato sidled up to him, sipping from his cup nonchalantly. He stared down at the liquid inside as he said, "They've been gone a long time."

"That's got to be good, right?" Taichi muttered out of the side of his mouth. His best friend only shrugged in response before moving away. He was beginning to have doubts that his plan was working after all. Taichi had been so sure that all the two needed was the chance to talk to each other. And if this didn't work, he was enlisting Yamato's help to tie them both to chairs and locking them in a room together until they did work out their problems. Just then, however, what he'd been waiting for happened.

And though it had been his idea to begin with, Taichi couldn't help but tense up when the sound of the front door opening floated across the room. A quick glance around the room proved that he was not the only one who noticed as one by one, everyone in the room fell silent. Clearly, he had not been the only one that had been feeling the anticipation.

Hikari appeared in the room first, her soft, quick footfalls sounding loud in the quiet room. She gave the room a smile of greeting as she walked toward the still vacant chair she'd left when she went out with Takeru. While he'd rather have her smiling than not, Taichi couldn't read exactly what had happened from it. Takeru appeared moments later—his footsteps slower and more deliberate. The rustling sound of plastic came from the bag in his hand, showing that they had, in fact, gotten the cups that he'd sent them out for. "Sorry, we took so long," Takeru said casually. His voice was even, and like Hikari's expression, it gave away nothing of what happened. Taichi folded his arms loosely across his chest. He couldn't tell if they had talked while they were gone, or if it really had just taken nearly an hour to go and buy cups.

"It took forever to find the cups," Hikari piped up from her seat.

Takeru's eyebrows rose suddenly as he looked around the room. "But it looks like you don't really need them. I thought I saw some sitting in the kitchen when I first arrived." His eyes twinkled as they made immediate contact with Taichi's. The small upturn of the edges of his lips (that was just too close to an expression of Yamato's that he knew oh so well) made Taichi realize that Takeru _knew he'd been set up_. That meant that the surprise he had just shown was one hundred percent fake. Problem was that Taichi _still_ couldn't figure out if Takeru was happy about being set up or not. With the kid, it really could go either way; he got stubborn about the strangest things sometimes. However, Taichi dismissed the thought anyways. Even if he didn't appreciate it, Takeru wasn't one to hold a grudge against his friends. Taichi knew he'd only be in hot water for a short amount of time, so he didn't particularly care. No matter which way it ended up going, he'd been trying to help out his little brother (he would probably forever view the kid that way), and there was no regret when it came to that.

A nervous chuckle was forced out of Taichi's mouth as he rubbed the back of his neck in an attempt to play off the situation. "Well, you know me," he said because, despite not really feeling bad, he was still wondering what Takeru was going to do now. Was he going to call Taichi on his plan? Or was he just going to let it go? Knowing the younger man as he did, Taichi was inclined to believe the latter, but, once again, Takeru did tend to surprise him sometimes.

He barely suppressed a sigh of relief when Takeru only nodded and said, "I do." Taichi couldn't help but think there was hidden meaning in those two words—words that had been spoken so heavily, but heck if he knew what it was. Takeru lifted the bag slightly. "I'll just take these to the kitchen, alright?" Taichi nodded mutely, still trying to figure things out. He barely heard Sora resparking the conversation by speaking to Mimi. His attention was still on Takeru and Hikari and trying to figure out exactly what had gone on while they had been gone. He frowned deeply and took it as an extremely bad sign when the younger blond returned and took a seat away from Hikari.

Yamato drew his focus when a snort sounded from where he was sitting. His best friend simply raised a single eyebrow, but Taichi understood exactly what he was saying: _You tried, but this _is_ their problem._ Suddenly, Taichi was angry that his plan didn't work. He hated seeing these two miserable and had really been hoping that the opportunity to talk it out was all they needed. However, before he could come up with _something_ (because it simply wasn't _in_ him to leave things like this), he was saved by Mimi.

"No way," the brunette said in a flat, yet extremely loud, voice.

All eyes focused on her—it was hard not to after that—but she was looking at Hikari, who was frozen in the middle of pushing her hair behind her ear. Once she seemed to realize Mimi's attention was on her, her eyes went wide in shock as her eyes trailed quickly around the room. "What?" Hikari asked, glancing down at her shirt as if in search for something wrong.

Quite unexpectedly, Mimi literally vaulted over the coffee table that was between her and Hikari. Jyou, in an almost defeated tone, said quietly, "Please, Mimi, be careful. Don't forget about the baby." Taichi took only a moment to be shocked by the fact that Mimi was pregnant, but the scene playing out was far more interesting than that. Besides, Sora had been hinting at as much for weeks now.

As she ignored her husband completely, Mimi snatched the hand that was still resting next to Hikari's ear and stared intently at it, much to Taichi's confusion. "No," she said in a tone brimming with shocked disbelief, this time glancing back and forth between Hikari and Takeru. "Yes?" she asked a few moments later. Now, her voice was full of desperate hope, as a bright expression filled her face. She was nearly bouncing as she sat on the edge of the coffee table.

No words were spoken, but a simple soft smile crested onto Hikari's face. Takeru ducked his head suddenly at her reaction, but Taichi was at an angle that he could see the matching smile on him. Barely registering the gasp from his wife, Taichi found himself at a complete loss when Mimi exclaimed in wordless excitement, pulled Hikari to her feet, and nearly jumped up and down as she hugged the younger woman. His sister was laughing as the exuberant young woman nearly jumped on her. Who knew that it would only take four words before the whole world no longer made sense?

As quickly as she had the first time (and with another quiet protest of "Mimi, the baby" from Jyou), Mimi let go of Hikari and slid back over the table to Takeru, where she promptly smacked the young man on the arm. "You guys are so mean," she admonished playfully before she laughed and hugged him as well.

"What the…" Taichi muttered as he watched everything play out before him. When he looked to see his other friends' reactions, Jyou was up and fussing over his wife, who was trying to wave him off, saying that she was fine. Sora looked on the verge of tears and had taken Mimi's place of hugging Hikari. He caught Daisuke's eyes, who gave him a shrug of shared confusion. Clearly, he had no idea what was going on either.

As his first option of clarification was currently occupied (Sora), he turned to his second option (Yamato). His best friend was sitting contently with a happy smirk on his face. When he noticed Taichi looking at him, his smirk turned slightly sly and exasperated. Taichi frowned; his best friend had caught onto the fact that he had no idea what was going on, and Taichi didn't quite appreciate his taking humor from it. Yamato raised his left hand and pointed at his own ring finger with his right hand. He mouthed the word "look" at Taichi before indicating Hikari was his eyes.

So, Taichi turned back to his sister and looked at the hand that Mimi had grabbed. And this time, he noticed the ring sitting there and understood exactly what it meant: his plan had worked, after all. Not a moment later, he was participating in Mimi's new-found sport of vaulting across coffee tables.


	23. Falling in Love Montage

_Saturday, 30 March 1996_

The sand was cool and slightly squishy between her toes as she dug them into it. Hikari gently patted the finished tower for their castle, wishing they had a bucket and shovel to make it easier to build. She didn't actually care that much as she glanced up from what she was working on to the blond boy sitting across from her—his lips were endlessly upturned in a smile even as his brows furrowed together in concentration at his task. Takeru was his name, and though she hadn't known him before this day had started, she knew that she wanted to know him for forever.

"Thanks for saving me," she said quietly to him.

She startled him—she could tell as his head jerked upwards and his hand smashed down on the sand tower that he had been working on. "Sorry," she said quickly as she jumped up and ran over to him. She felt really bad for making him mess up what he was working on.

He glanced down at the now broken structure, but to her surprise, he just shrugged and grinned at her. "It's okay." He cocked his head slightly at her as he asked, "What'd you say?"

She was surprised by his calm reaction—her brother never reacted that way to anything really. Then she immediately felt bad for thinking something bad about Taichi…but it wasn't really a bad thought, she decided. Her brother was just different, not worse, than Takeru. She crouched down so that she and Takeru were level again as she repeated, "Thanks for saving me."

"Oh," Takeru said as his head ducked down. "That wasn't—Yamato did better than me."

Hikari glanced over at where their brothers were sitting. Taichi and Takeru's brother (Yamato?) were watching them play. Taichi had a grin on his face and was waving his arms wildly—Hikari knew that meant he was telling the other boy about some soccer game where he had made an "amazingly awesome goal". Yamato was just nodding and had the same look on his face that she'd seen on Sora's when Taichi told his stories. She giggled before she looked back at Takeru and said, "I know, but you were there first, so thanks."

When the boy looked up at her again, his face was tinted slightly more pink than she remembered. "You're welcome," he said quietly. Hikari just smiled radiantly at him before she offered to help fix the tower that she had caused him to break. They worked quietly before Takeru suddenly looked at her and said, "Hikari?"

"Hmm?" Hikari hummed in reply as she looked at him. He had a bright look on his face and he looked eager for something.

"I like you lots," he said emphatically.

Hikari covered her mouth with her hands as she giggled quietly. "Me too," Hikari said. "I like you lots, too, Takeru."

A smile, wider than anything she had seen on his face previously, blossomed on his face. Suddenly, he held up his right hand in a fist with all the fingers tightly wrapped together other than his small one at the end. "Let's promise," he said enthusiastically. "Friends forever?"

Without hesitation, Hikari reached out and wrapped her tiny pinky finger around his own.

* * *

><p><em>Monday, 16 May 2011<em>

A cold shiver ran through Hikari as she gasped awake. For a few moments, she was still deeply entrenched in the memories of the nightmare that had woken her up so violently. She could feel the cold sweat matting her pajamas to her body; she threw the blankets off as she pulled herself up and wiped the edges of her eyes, not at all surprised to find the tears on her cheeks. The nightmare had seemed far too real.

As she looked around the room, Hikari wondered for a few incoherent seconds where she was before she remembered that she was on Takeru's couch. He always tried to get her to take his bed when she stayed over, but it was one thing that she was adamantly stubborn about. He took the couch at her place, so it was only fair that she did the same when she stayed over at his place.

Suddenly desperate at the thought of her very best friend, Hikari pushed herself quickly onto her feet, swaying a bit as she felt the blood rush to her head. As her heart pounded in her ears, she stumbled over to his bedroom door and tentatively pushed it open. Takeru was in his bed sleeping, his chest peacefully rising and falling, as her mind had known he would be. But her heart still needed to see him.

The bed dipped and creaked only slightly as she pressed her knee on it to climb on—the small noise didn't even wake him, but she knew Takeru was a deep sleeper anyway. For a short while, she simply stared at him, at his chest that was covered in a white t-shirt, but all she could see in her mind's eye was the crimson stain of her nightmare spreading across it. Choking sobs that she tried to stifle erupted from her throat and she placed her hand on his chest, where she remembered the source of the red coming from.

Takeru finally stirred, his eyes slowly opening and blinking. She could see the puzzled crease in his brow as he saw her. "Hikari, wha...?"

His sentence trailed off tiredly in a yawn, but she didn't even allow him to regain his thoughts as she buried her face in his chest, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she cried, "I'm not worth it. _I'm not worth it!_ You have...you have to..." Her sobs didn't allow her to continue any longer. She gripped his shirt tightly in her fists.

"Hikari?" Takeru's voice sounded alarmed and much more awake now. He sat up, pushing her up with him, but Hikari didn't let go of his shirt and continued to cry. She tried to reconcile her dream to reality, telling herself that Takeru wouldn't really do that, but she couldn't even convince herself of that. She knew him better than anyone else; she knew the Takeru in her dreams and the Takeru here before her would do the same exact thing in the same situation. Why had she had that dream in the first place? Was she so afraid of losing him?

She looked up at him and couldn't see many of details of his face in the pale moonlight, but she could feel more than see how deeply concerned he was about her. "Promise me you won't ever leave me. No matter what. Promise me..." she hiccupped as she finished her desperate tirade.

"I promise," Takeru replied solemnly even as she could hear the confusion in his voice. "Hikari, what is it? What happened?" he asked.

Hikari could only bury her face in his chest again as she shook her head at him. Later, in the morning, she would tell him about her nightmare, about how Takeru had saved her only for her to lose him. Right now, she couldn't manage any more than to hold onto him, to feel him next to her and hear his heartbeat pounding in her ears. As he so often did, he seemed to understand her completely as he didn't ask her again. Takeru simply pulled her down with him as he lay back down on the bed. There was no mention of her returning to the couch; there were no more words at all as he just held her, trailing his fingers through her hair. Hikari's sobs soon ceased as she fell peacefully back to sleep in her best friend's arms.

* * *

><p><em>Thursday, 1 August 2013<em>

As they reached the park—she remembered summer days long gone when they used to play here—she caught sight of the swings, where she had actually first met Takeru when they were younger. Feeling nostalgic through the alcohol daze, she walked over to them and he followed her like she knew he would. She grabbed the chain of one of the swings before turning her head back to Takeru, who was leaning against the pole, watching her.

She sat down on the seat and began to swing back and forth slowly and gently. She stopped the swing as she asked, "We've been friends for a long time now, right?" She didn't wait for his answer, because she knew it already and continued, "Do you ever wonder if we should just go for it?"

There was a beat before he asked, "For what?"

Instead of answering him she tried a different approach as she said, "All of them…all the guys I've ever dated, ever liked…even ever _talked_ to…I've done the same thing." She stopped and looked up at him and saw his confusion through his own haze, but still he didn't interrupt so she kept talking. "All I've done is compare them to you. And, I swear this isn't the alcohol talking," she added in a rush before continuing, "but every time…every _single _time…they come up short."

And he said nothing, but he didn't have to because she had known him for so long she could read the truth in his eyes. She smiled as she began to swing lightly again and said, "I knew it. _I knew it_. You do it, too, don't you? You can't lie to me—I've known you too long." Still he didn't say anything, but now she could see the question in his eye—wondering what she was getting at. She looked away from him this time—not sure she wanted to see his reaction—as she said, "So I've been thinking, with Miyako and Ken…we should just go for it."

He was quiet for a moment, but she was determined to let him speak this time. Finally he asked, "You want to go out…date?"

She shook her head but stopped as that made the haze and oncoming headache worse. "What would be the point?" she asked. "Dating is just for getting to know the person and we pretty much already know everything about each other." She didn't know whether to beat Daisuke senseless or thank him because she was certain she would not have been saying any of this without being under the influence of alcohol. But she knew what she wanted and so she stopped swinging again, looked him directly in the eye, and said, "I want to get married. To you."

"What?" he hissed. He rubbed his face with one hand before looking at her again with a small frown. "That's crazy," he added.

Hikari shrugged and said, "I'm not so sure. I'm never going to find someone better than you. I've realized that. I suppose we could make that promise—you know, if we're not married by the time we're thirty-five or something we marry each other, but why waste all those years? Every time I've been given the choice, I've always chosen you. Besides, we spend so much time at each other's apartments that we practically live together any way. So we should just go and make it official. It would certainly save on rent. All we have to do is go put our names on a family registry."

He blinked at her for another quiet moment before he said, "You mean now? Tonight? We can't. The others would kill us!"

"Let them," she said almost indifferently as she stood up from the swing and walked over to him as she continued, "Aren't they the ones always telling us how great a couple we would be?" As she approached, he shirked back closer to the pole. She reached out her hand and trailed one finger down his chest, following it with her eyes until he gripped her hand in his own to stop her. She looked at him and said seriously, "I want to do this."

He was shaking his head, but stopped shortly—he must have the same oncoming headache and haze as her. "This…this is just the alcohol," he said as he rubbed his forehead. Another frown crossed his lips as he muttered, "I never should have trusted Daisuke. I can't…I can't even think straight," he finished.

She knew that was true—as a small thought in the back of her mind was wondering what was wrong with her; wondering why _she_ was saying this either. She didn't allow thought to stop her as she placed her hands on his cheeks, standing on her tiptoes, to pull his face towards hers. This kiss was nothing like that first awkward kiss they had shared those long years ago. Takeru hesitated only a mere moment before his lips moved across hers, deepening the kiss far beyond what Hikari had been expecting. She hadn't even expected that he would kiss her back at all. His hands were suddenly on her cheeks, under her chin, tilting her head almost forcibly to the side to pull her even closer to himself. Hikari's own hands came to rest on his forearms, accepting his advances with her own passion, surprising herself. Other boys had kissed her before since that first one with Takeru, but it had never been, _never felt_, like this—like she could simply stand here eternally in his arms. But like that first one, that familiar feeling of seeming so long and yet not nearly long enough rushed over her when it ended.

Takeru quite suddenly gave what sounded like a frustrated groan as he pushed her gently away. His hands dropped back down to his sides, and he stepped away from her, sliding away from the pole where she had him somewhat pinned. "We can't do this," he burst out. "We're not even in love!"

"Aren't we?" Hikari asked as she closed the distance between them again giving him a good poke in the chest for being so obstinate. In a near fury—he should have understood, just as she finally had—she continued, "Why else would we compare every other person to each other? Why else are we so happy when we're together? Why else would we spend every waking moment we can together? Why else did we just walk away from our friends' wedding alone? Why else are you the only man I've ever dreamed about?" She stopped there as her voice nearly broke at the last question. There was something stirring underneath the haze in his eyes—something she couldn't really define, but somehow it gave her hope that she was reaching him.

But his eyelids slid shut as he pressed his lips together, almost as he was refusing to allow himself to believe her. Hikari couldn't allow this anymore; she suddenly couldn't live the way they had before now that she'd let her thoughts out—some of which _she_ hadn't even realized she'd had. She reached up and placed her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look at her when his eyes opened again. "Why are we doing this to ourselves, Takeru?" she asked him quietly. "Because of some promise we made when we were _eight_?" she finished incredulously. "We were _children_, Takeru. We didn't know any better. But now I do," she emphasized, hoping that he was listening; she who knew him better than anyone else; she who knew exactly what had been holding him back all these years. "I am _not_ your mother. And you, my dearest Takeru, _are_ _not_ your father."

There was a response in his expression; she wasn't just imagining it. His eyes lightened; it was like he wanted to believe her so much but was almost afraid to allow himself. But his lips pressed together, and he said nothing as she allowed her hands to drop back down to her sides. He needed another push—one last thing to push him over the edge with her.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself in a self-hug before she said, "I've never been so sure of anything in my life. There's no one I'd rather spend the rest of it than with you, Takeru. I honestly think I'm in love with you," she breathed quietly, a little surprised that she'd admitted it. She'd implied the truth during this whole conversation, but that barrier that had always been up prevented her from saying the actual words that Hikari had never even allowed herself to think before. It was what she'd always feared with him—of being in love alone because he'd closed himself off to everyone, even her. But there had been a reaction in him; she was sure of it.

Against her will, a single tear trailed down her cheek—she wasn't even sure whether it was in fury, in sadness, or in happiness as the haze was jumbling her emotions. She almost reached up to wipe it away, but Takeru beat her to it as his thumb gently brushed it away. He let his hand drop back to his side as he said quietly, "…Okay. Let's get married, Hikari."

* * *

><p>He hadn't been asleep—not really, more just dozing—so it wasn't much of a surprise that he was mostly alert the moment her fingers had brushed his face. He didn't respond to her touch right away; he was still reeling in everything that had gone on that night. Mere hours ago, they'd been at their friends wedding, and now he was a married man himself. The talk in the park...the rush to the courthouse before it closed...Hikari giggling happily as they registered themselves as a couple...his own brilliant smile in response...his kiss as they stumbled down her hallway that had led to so much more.<p>

Takeru kept waiting for it to hit him; he kept waiting for the regret, guilt, or anything to wash over him, but it never came. Despite still being partly drunk out of his mind and the haze that still buzzing in his head, he was a lot happier than he remembered being in a long time. He suddenly realized that he had never really stopped loving her. After all that had happened, perhaps she really still was just his One. "Hikari?" he asked as he heard the creak of the bed on her side.

"Relax," she said and he could hear the laughter in her tone. "I just need some water," she finished as she got out of bed. He heard the sound of drawers opening and realized she was getting clothes out of her dresser. In the moonlight from the window, he could sort of see what she put on.

"Is that my shirt?" he asked—not surprised that he had clothes here because they slept enough at each other's apartments that, like he had clothes here, Hikari kept some clothes at his place. "And my boxers?" he asked a little bit more shocked.

She giggled and said, "I'm your wife now, so I can wear whatever I want…including your clothes. And by the way, just so you know, this is not exactly the first time I've worn them." She laughed at his expression and continued with a shrug, "They're really comfy." She rummaged in the drawer again and suddenly threw something at him, so he was startled when a clump of fabric hit him in the face. "Put those on and come with me," she finished.

Takeru untangled the mess of fabric and recognized a pair of his pajama pants and another pair of boxers. He stood up and pulled them on as Hikari gathered up the clothes on the ground and threw them into the clothes hamper. "Not that I mind—but why are we putting on clothes now?"

Hikari laughed. "Because you are not walking around my apartment naked—that's just weird," she replied. "I mean, who actually does that?"

He said, "Good point." She walked out of the room and he followed her. Without turning on any lights, because the moon gave enough light to see, Hikari walked into the kitchen and pulled out a glass, filling it with water. As she sipped it, Takeru leaned against the door frame of the kitchen and watched her, causing a small smile to play across his lips.

"What?" she asked him with an arched eyebrow in between sips.

"I honestly think I'm in love with you, too," he said simply.

Her eyes went wide and very vulnerable as her hands dropped down slowly. He crossed the room in a few quick steps and reached out to pull the glass from her grasp. He set it aside as he leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. "I wasn't going to drop it," she defended herself quietly but fiercely.

"I know," he said as he pulled them together for another kiss.


	24. Happily Ever After

_Monday, 7 July 2014_

The festival's lights illuminated the temple grounds as Takeru walked hand in hand with his wife. He glanced down at her glowing face; her cheeks were a bright red; a remnant of her laughter when he had grabbed her hand and whispered, "Run." The couple had spent the first few hours at the festival with their families, not surprising considering today was also Hikari's birthday. But in the middle of the discussion/argument Taichi and Yamato had been having about the best vantage point to watch the fireworks, Takeru decided he wanted some moments alone with Hikari. They had raced together into the crowd, leaving behind the shouts of protest that had followed them, and hadn't slowed down until they were nearly to the gate.

"Wait a moment, Takeru," Hikari requested as she came to a halt. She let out a breath as she leaned back against a tree, allowing her hand to slip out from his.

Concern was his immediate reaction. "Everything alright?" Takeru asked. He reached out and pushed a stray strand of hair back behind her ear.

Hikari smiled and hummed affirmatively. "Just need a second," she replied. "Been a while since I had to run anywhere."

A loud booming sound echoed across the sky. Takeru turned his head to catch the remaining sparks of the firework. Another soon replaced it, though they couldn't see them extremely well through the trees from where they were standing. Nostalgia rushed through him like a wave; watching the fireworks with Hikari each year on her birthday had been a tradition for as long as he cared to remember. Long ago, when he was very young, he used to think the Star Festival was all for Hikari's birthday. It was sort of embarrassing how long it took him to realize that he had misunderstood. But how could Takeru have helped it? He had always thought that she deserved it.

His attention was drawn back to his wife as she murmured, "What a year it's been..." Takeru made an affirmative sound, knowing words were not necessary. Starting off with Miyako and Ken's weddiing and moving through everything that had happened to the two of them at the end of last year (they ended up having a proper wedding ceremony just this past thirtieth of March to placate all their friends and family), Mimi and Jyou having their baby girl last month, and not to mention Taichi and Sora having a baby girl of their own in two months, it had not been a quiet year for their group.

Reaching down, Takeru slid their hands together again. For a few minutes, they watched the fireworks in silence. In between two firework blasts, Hikari suddenly asked, "How would you feel about another addition to the group?"

It took a long few seconds (and a few more fireworks in the interim) for Takeru to realize what those words implied. He looked sharply, unconsciously tightening his grip on her hand, as he exclaimed, "What?!"

Hikari reached up with her free hand to cover the small giggle that escaped her lips. "Why are you so surprised? Weren't you the one that said there will be others?"

Any reply he might have given was interrupted by the firework finale. The sound was deafening and made it impossible for him to be heard. A slightly sly smile graced Hikari's expression as her gaze was fixated on watching the finale. Takeru could only watch the reflection of the lights on her face, unable to turn his gaze away from her. Soon, the last echo of the final firework faded away, and Hikari looked at him with her eyes dancing in glee. Seeing her happiness caused a smile to fill his face as he realized that couldn't possibly feel more glad than this.

A small strand of her bangs fell in front of her eyes again. Takeru beat her instinctive response by pushing it back before her hand had raised even halfway there. His hand rested against her cheek. "Are you alright?" He couldn't help but remember the last time. How could he ever forget?

However, Hikari merely rolled her eyes. "Why is that always a man's reaction? I'm pregnant, not dying." A rush of happiness flowed through Takeru at those words. Said out loud rather than just implied, they sounded a million times better. _I'm pregnant_. She reached up and pressed her own hand against the one he had cupping her cheek. "It will be different." She had guessed his thoughts exactly, as the playful tone fell into one more serious. She snaked her arms around his torso, and he took a step closer as she tugged him toward her. Her eyes were deep and shining, unconflicted as she gazed at him. "It won't be like last time," Hikari reiterated again. "Now, I know you love me." Her lips bloomed into a brilliant smile.

A warmth in his heart pushed all those worries and bad memories away at the sight of that smile. He returned it with his one of his own-the smile he saved exclusively for her. She was right; it didn't have to be like the last time because all the stress she had felt last year didn't exist. This time their baby would be wanted and welcomed: not expected, but not unexpected. And they had every reason to be together even without it.

And because she was so very close, Takeru leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Thank you, Hikari." For so much, more than he could possibly put into words. He didn't care if it was the epitome of cliches; she _was_ his reason to live. Without her, Takeru would never have let himself love anyone, never would have let himself feel this joy of having your other half beside you forever. "I love you." He trailed his lips lightly across her cheek before capturing her lips in a proper kiss.

Accidental or fate, it didn't matter to him anymore. Takeru was done being dragged along and more than happy to follow her lead.


End file.
